SLAM  AND 
HRJSTIANITY 


M. 


U  r  f  •  fi  r 


^fe>\ 


(r^\  r»  ^1 


^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^g 


Purchased   by  the    Hamill   Missionary   Fund, 


Division 
Section 


I 


ISLAM   AND 
CHRISTIANITY 

OR 

THE  QURAN  'Vu.  BIBLE 


A  LETTER  TO  A  MUSLIM   FRIEND 


BY      A      MISSIONARY 


AMERICAN     TRACT     SOCIETY 

150      NASSAU      STREET,     NEW     YORK 


COPYRIGHT,  1901 
By  AMERICAN  TRACT  SOCIETY 


Islam    and    Christianity. 


My  Dear  Friend  and  Teacher  : 

The  course  of  study  which  we  have  pursued  to- 
gether for  some  years  has  naturally  occasioned 
frequent  comparison  of  our  respective  faiths,  oblig- 
ing us  both  to  examine  carefully  the  grounds  on 
which  we  accept  the  religion  taught  us  by  our  par- 
ents. 

Now,  as  you  remove  from  this  city,  the  conver- 
sations which  I  have  found  so  useful  and  interest- 
ing must  cease,  but  you  have  kindly  asked  me 
to  write  out  for  you  the  principal  arguments  which 
satisfy  my  own  mind  of  the  truth  of  Christianity 
and  prevent  my  acceptance  of  Islam. 

This  I  will  most  gladly  do,  but  I  must  beg  you  to 
remember  that  I  cannot  treat  the  subject  as  one 
learned  in  the  wisdom  of  the  schools,  but  as  a  plain, 
average  everyday  person.  Of  such  is  the  vast  ma- 
jority of  the  human  race  composed,  and  to  such 
we  may  surely  hope  the  God  who  made  them  will  not 
refuse  to  reveal  His  will  and  ways  when  they  seek 
Him  in  sincerity  and  truth.  Is  it  not  for  these  He 
has  deigned  to  make  Himself  known  in  the  sacred 
Scriptures  ? 


4  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

Authorities  to  be  Consulted. 

I  would  remind  you  also  of  our  agreement  that 
the  books  which  we  accept  as  of  Divine  origin  and 
authority,  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments— to  which  you  add  the  Quran — should  fur- 
nish the  tribunal  to  which  we  appeal  and  the  decisive 
citations  which  we  make.  This  is  necessary,  if  we 
are  to  be  upon  equal  terms,  for,  as  you  are  aware, 
Protestant  Christians  reject  tradition  as  a  ground 
of  faith  and  practice,  resting  on  the  Scriptures  alone 
as  the  infallible  Word  of  God.  I  can,  therefore, 
make  no  use  of  Christian  tradition,  believing  it  to 
be  untrustworthy  as  most  liable  to  be  vitiated  and 
corrupted  by  transmission  through  fallible  mortals. 

Muslim  Tradition  and  the  Quran. 

As  for  Muslim  tradition,  its  immense  volume  ap- 
palls the  non-Muslim  who  attempts  to  gain  even  a 
casual  knowledge  of  the  labyrinthine  maze.  An 
ordinary  lifetime  would  hardly  suffice  for  the  task ; 
he  must  then  choose  between  those  traditions  ac- 
cepted by  the  Shiahs,  and  those  accepted  by  the 
Sunnis;*  in  short,  the  task  is  endless.  The 
Quran  offers  the  only  authority  accepted  in  its 
entirety  by  all  Muslims,  while  its  size  does  not  forbid 
repeated  perusals  in  a  reasonable  time.  Non- 
*  See  note  on  page  215. 


ISLAAI    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  5 

Muslims,  therefore,  naturally  regard  it  as  the  corner- 
stone of  Islam,  to  be  first  thoroughly  examined  by 
one  who  would  inform  himself  of  that  faith.  It  cer- 
tainly seems  presumptuous  and  unfair  for  one  to 
speak  or  judge  of  a  subject  with  which  he  has  not 
acquainted  himself  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 

I  have,  therefore,  endeavored  to  become  familiar 
with  the  Quran  and  the  circumstances  under  which 
it  was  given  to  the  world,  reading  not  only  the  book 
itself  carefully  and  repeatedly,  but  all  the  explana- 
tory works  within  reach. 

Difficulty  of  Studying  the  Quran  and  Islam. 

At  the  very  outset  of  these  studies  a  strange  fact 
presented  itself.  It  appeared  that  the  Muslim  does  not 
invite  or  encourage  a  study  of  his  faith  by  the  non- 
Muslim,  who  is  not,  at  least  in  this  country,  which 
is  entirely  under  Muhammadan  government,  allowed 
to  purchase  or  own  a  copy  of  the  Arabic  Quran. 
Whether  a  Muslim  would  be  allowed  to  read  and 
teach  it  to  one  not  of  his  own  religion  I  cannot  say, 
but  I  do  know  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  it  except  through  the  medium  of  trans- 
lations made  by  Europeans  and  non-Muslims.  In 
this  city,  as  you  know,  only  Muslims  are  allowed  to 
attend  the  services  in  the  mosques  and  listen  to  the 
public  preaching.  This  is  quite  unlike  the  spirit  of 
true  Christianity,  which  welcomes  and  invites  ex- 


6  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

amination  of  its  sacred  books,  translating  them  into 
every  language,  and  scattering  them  broadcast  over 
the  world  at  a  price  within  the  means  of  the  poorest. 
I  have  been  much  struck  with  the  fact  that  Islam 
offers  no  such  facilities  to  the  inquirer  seeking  to 
acquaint  himself  with  its  doctrines.  Not  only  so,  but 
many  of  its  most  devoted  adherents,  notably  among 
the  women,  are  densely  ignorant  of  their  own  sacred 
book,  reading  it,  if  at  all,  in  a  language  not  under- 
stood by  them.  Tell  me,  if,  as  I  am  informed,  this 
book  is  too  holy  for  me  to  read,  hear,  or  even  touch, 
how  can  I  be  convinced  of  its  being  the  Word  of 
God  ?  At  a  very  early  age,  as  soon  as  I  could  read 
with  any  facility,  the  Bible  in  my  own  tongue  was 
placed  in  my  hands,  while  I  was  invited,  enjoined, 
and  urged  by  parents  and  teachers  to  make  it 
the  object  of  diligent  daily  study,  in  private,  in  the 
family  circle,  the  schoolroom,  and  the  place  of  public 
worship. 

Frequent  and  free  perusal  of  the  former  Scriptures 
in  a  familiar  language  tends  to  create  and  confirm 
faith  in  them.  Why,  then,  is  it  forbidden  in  the  case 
of  the  Quran? 

Principle  of  Abrogation. 

I  do  not  deny  that  the  study  of  this  book  presents 
its  own  difficulties,  from  peculiarities  of  style  and 
construction,  but  above  all  from  the  principle  of  ab- 
rogation, which  is  not  found  in  the  Old  and  New 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  7 

Testaments.  Of  this  we  must  speak  later  on,  but  I 
wish  now  to  call  your  attention  to  the  use  made  of 
it  in  hindering  Muslims  from  the  study  of  the  pre- 
vious revelations ;  not,  indeed,  by  discrediting  them 
as  such,  but  by  claiming  that  their  day  has  passed, 
and  they  are  no  longer  necessary  or  useful.  I  believe 
the  Quran  itself  nowhere  explicitly  teaches  this  doc- 
trine, though  it  may  seem  to  imply  it.  There  are, 
moreover,  passages  which  appear  to  recommend  the 
searching  of  the  Scriptures.  Its  followers,  however, 
do  not  hesitate  to  make  this  claim.  The  following 
appears  in  a  recent  publication,  given  as  the  words 
of  a  Muslim  Mullah  :* 

"  We  accept  four  great  books — the  Law  of  Moses, 
the  Psalter  of  David,  the  Gospel,  and  the  Quran. 
One  hundred  smaller  books  were  interspersed  among 
the  greater  ones  and  summed  up  in  them.  There 
were  four  dispensations,  each  superseding  the  pre- 
ceding. A  king  might  order  that  each  child  born  a 
citizen  of  his  country  should  have  a  ring  placed  on 
his  finger  as  a  symbol  of  citizenship.  Later  he  might 
order  the  ring  put  in  the  ear  instead  of  on  the  finger ; 
again,  a  peculiar  garment;  finally,  a  turban.  The 
promulgation  of  each  law  would  abrogate  the  pre- 
ceding ones.  The  Quran  supersedes  all  prior  reve- 
lations; but  itself  is  the  last." 

*New  York  Independent,  Christmas  No.,  1897. 


8  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

Unique  Claim  for  the  Quran. 

If  this  be  a  correct  statement  of  Muslim  views,  a 
serious  and  unique  claim  is  made  for  the  Quran,  as 
no  previous  revelation  hints  of  superseding  or  abro- 
gating that  which  preceded  it ;  rather,  of  developing 
and  fulfilling.  We  might  as  well  speak  of  the 
fruit  as  superseding  the  blossom,  or  the  blossom  su- 
perseding the  bud,  as  of  the  New  Testament  abro- 
gating the  Psalms  and  Prophets,  or  the  latter  setting 
aside  the  books  of  Moses.  Accepting  the  simile  pro- 
posed— one,  so  far  as  we  see,  without  any  basis  of 
fact  or  applicability — the  subjects  of  the  king  de- 
scribed before  changing  their  badge  of  citizenship 
for  the  fourth  time  would  be  justified  in  requiring 
very  strong  evidence  that  the  order  really  came  from 
the  king,  and  was  truly  a  final  one.  If  not,  what 
should  hinder  a  fifth  and  sixth  change  ? 

Attitude  of  Islam  to  Judaism  and  Christianity. 

The  attitude  of  Islam  to  the  former  religions,  as 
the  last  of  three  great  monotheistic  faiths,  is  that  of 
one  approaching  a  guarded  camp,  who  must  expect 
to  hear  the  sharp  challenge  of  the  sentinel,  "  Halt! 
Who  goes  there?"  must  give  an  account  of  himself 
and  prove  his  right  to  be  where  he  is.  Christianity 
has  in  this  way  met  the  challenge  of  Judaism,  and 
if  Islam  cannot  do  the  same  it  would  seem  to  be  in- 
ferior to  the  religions  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 


ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  g 

ments.  As  the  New  Testament,  claiming  to  be  based 
on  the  Old,  submits  to  be  judged  and  authenticated 
by  it,  so  the  Quran  must  expect  to  be  tested  by  its 
predecessors,  and  until  the  Jew  and  Christian  have 
received  ample  and  convincing  proof  that  the  Quran 
does  supersede  and  abrogate  their  sacred  books 
they  have  a  right  to  appeal  to  their  authority  and  ask 
that  he  who  professes  Islam  should  also  reverence 
their  voice. 

We  think,  therefore,  we  have  reason  to  request 
our  Muslim  friends  to  acquaint  themselves  with  our 
Scriptures,  and  they  have  cause  to  allow  us  to  be- 
come familiar  with  the  Quran ;  indeed,  it  is  difficult 
to  see  how  otherwise  the  whole  truth  of  religion 
can  be  ascertained. 

A  difficulty  arises  here :  it  is  sometimes  said  that 
the  Quran  is  so  holy  as  to  be  incomprehensible,  and 
the  attempt  to  understand  it  sinful  and  presump- 
tuous. If  this  were  so,  how  unlike  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  which  are  so  adapted  to  ordinary  intelli- 
gence that  even  the  unlearned  understand  the  sub- 
stance of  their  teaching  without  ulterior  aid !  If  the 
Quran  comes  from  the  same  God,  may  we  not  expect 
it  to  be  equally  intelligible,  a  revelation,  rather  than 
a  concealment,  of  God's  will?  Let  us,  therefore,  as- 
sume that  this  book  is  intended  to  be  read  and  under- 
stood, and  that,  like  the  earlier  writings,  the  sub- 
stance of  its  teaching  can  be  grasped  even  in  a  trans- 
lation from  the  original  tongue. 


lO  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

Why  We  Wish  to  Study  the  Quran, 

If  you  still  ask  why  a  Christian  wishes  freedom  to 
study  your  sacred  book  and  investigate  its  claims 
to  be  received  by  mankind,  we  answer,  because 
those  claims  are  so  great,  and  carry  with  them  such 
momentous  consequences  for  this  world  and  the 
next.  In  the  first  place,  the  Quran  professes  to  be 
built  on  the  foundations  of  our  religion,  the  Torat, 
Zabour,  and  Injeel — to  be  their  successor  and  heir. 
In  the  second  place,  it  is  presented  to  us  by  its  fol- 
lowers as  practically  abrogating  these  former 
Scriptures,  its  Prophet  being  *' the  Seal  of  the 
Prophets,"  itself  God's  final  word  to  man,  its  re- 
ligion the  only  true  faith,  and  its  obligations  binding 
on  all  men,  everywhere  and  at  all  times. 

Christianity  Built  on  Judaism, 

But  this  is  precisely  the  ground  occupied  by 
Christianity,  which  is  based  on  ancient  Judaism.  The 
wise  builder  looks  well  to  his  foundations.  We 
examine  Judaism  as  we  find  it  in  the  Old  Testament, 
and  are  satisfied  it  came  from  the  only  living  and 
true  God.  It  offers  a  firm  basis  for  the  super- 
structure of  Christianity  reared  upon  it,  and  consist- 
ent with  it  in  doctrine  and  precept.  Judaism  estab- 
lished its  right  to  exist  as  the  only  true  religion 
against  the  false  systems  of  its  day.      Christianity 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  n 

has  proved  its  right  to  succeed  Judaism,  and  stand 
as  the  representative  of  all  that  was  precious  and 
permanent  in  that  faith,  and  as  its  development  and 
completion. 

Judaism  as  a  religion  may  be  said  to  begin  vi^ith 
the  covenant  made  with  Abraham  more  than  four 
thousand  years  since.  Christianity  as  such  dates 
from  the  birth  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  in  Bethlehem  of 
Judea  nineteen  hundred  years  ago. 

Six  hundred  and  ten  years  after  the  birth  of  Jesus 
Christ,  a  new  prophet  arising  in  Arabia  introduced 
the  religion  of  Islam,  claiming  to  build  on  the  foun- 
dations laid  by  Abraham,  Moses,  and  the  Proph- 
ets, including  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  to  accept  the  books 
of  the  Torat,  Zabour,  and  Injeel  as  the  Word  of 
God,  adding  to  them  the  Quran.  As  the  latest  cham- 
pion in  the  field,  Islam  must  be  prepared  to  de- 
fend itself  against  the  former  great  monotheistic  re- 
ligions, to  hold  its  ground  successfully,  and  prove 
not  only  its  right  to  be,  but  its  right  to  supersede  its 
predecessors.  It  is  in  the  position  of  the  claimant 
of  an  estate  now  held  by  others,  who  must  produce 
his  title  deeds  and  prove  his  legitimacy. 

Mere  assertion,  unsupported  by  evidence,  will  not 
suffice ;  substantial  proof  is  called  for. 

We  know  why  the  Jewish  dispensation  has  been, 
in  a  certain  sense,  set  aside,  being  succeeded  by 
Cbristianity ;  we  can  show  reasons  why  the  latter 
fulfils  and  completes  the  former.     Could  we  not,  we 


12  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

should  certainly  have  to  abandon  one  of  the  two,  as 
not  proceeding  from  the  true  God.  When  we  are 
asked  to  believe  that  Christianity  is  displaced  by 
Islam,  is  it  unreasonable  to  inquire  why  the  change 
was  made,  to  desire  decisive  proofs  of  such  being 
the  undoubted  will  of  God,  to  require  evidence  that 
the  new  religion  is  legitimate  successor  and  heir  to 
the  old,  before  we  surrender  our  title  deeds  and  aban- 
don our  inheritance  ? 


Muhammad  Appeals  to  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments. 

It  is  Muhammad  himself  who  constantly  appeals 
to  the  Torat  and  In j eel  to  attest  his  divine  mission; 
he  calls  upon  Jews  and  Christians  to  accept  him  as 
the  successor  of  their  prophets.  In  more  than  ninety 
distinct  passages  the  Quran  acknowledges  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Besides 
these,  we  find  numerous  allusions  to  Scripture  teach- 
ings and  characters,  with  frequent  repetitions  of  their 
histories  purporting  to  be  narratives  revealed  by 
God  independently  of  the  former  records,  with 
which  he  does  not  profess  to  be  familiar. 

In  Sura  II.  alone,  surnamed  Ul  Baqr,  or  the  Cow, 
there  are  no  less  than  nineteen  references  to  our 
Scriptures,  while  whole  Suras  are  named  from  Bible 
characters,  as  Sura  III.,  Family  of  Imran  (Aaron)  ; 
Sura    X.,    Yunas     (Jonah) ;    Sura    XIL,    Yusef 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  13 

(Joseph)  ;  Sura  XIV.,  Ibrahim  (Abraham)  ;  Sura 
XIX.,  Maryam  (Mary).  You  will  readily  recall  the 
stories  narrated  with  so  much  repetition  and  pro- 
lixity of  Noah,  Abraham,  Lot,  and  Moses,  who  are 
generally  placed  in  circumstances  identical  with 
those  of  the  Meccan  prophet,  and  represented  as  em- 
ploying the  same  arguments,  threats,  exhortations, 
and  denunciations  which  he  used  with  his  unbeliev- 
ing compatriots. 

Let  us  cite  a  few  of  the  above-mentioned  passages : 
Sura  II.,  Surat  ul  Baqr,  or  the  Cow,  v.  86,  87: 
"  We  formerly  delivered  the  book  of  the  law  unto 
Moses,  and  caused  apostles  to  succeed  him,  and  gave 
evident  miracles  to  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  and 
strengthened  him  with  the  holy  spirit." 

Surat  IL,  v.  136:  "  Say,  we  believe  in  God  and 
that  which  hath  been  sent  down  to  us,  and  that  which 
hath  been  sent  down  to  Abraham,  and  Ismail,  and 
Jacob,  and  the  tribes,  and  that  which  was  delivered 
unto  Moses  and  Jesus,  and  that  which  was  delivered 
unto  the  prophets  from  their  Lord ;  we  make  no  dis- 
tinction between  any  of  them,  and  to  God  are  we  re- 
signed." 

In  Sura  III.,  Sura  al  Imran,  v.  48,  the  Lord  Jesus 
is  thus  spoken  of :  "  God  shall  teach  him  the  Script- 
ure, and  wisdom,  and  the  law,  and  the  gospel,  and 
shall  appoint  him  an  apostle  unto  the  children  of 
Israel." 

Sura  v.,  Surat  ul  Maida,  the  Table,  v.  50-52: 


14  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

''  We  also  caused  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  to  follow 
the  footsteps  of  the  prophets,  confirming  the  law 
which  was  sent  down  before  him ;  and  we  gave  him 
the  gospel,  containing  direction  and  light;  confirm- 
ing the  law  which  was  sent  down  before  him ;  con- 
firming also  the  light  which  was  given  before  it; 
and  a  direction  and  admonition  unto  those  who  fear 
God;  that  they  who  have  received  the  gospel  might 
judge  according  to  what  God  hath  revealed  therein, 
and  whoso  judgeth  not  according  to  what  God  hath 
revealed,  they  are  transgressors.  We  have  also  sent 
down  to  thee  the  book  of  the  Quran  with  the  truth, 
confirming  the  Scripture  which  was  revealed  before 
it;  and  preserving  the  same  safe  from  corruption." 

Sura  X.,  Surat  al  Yunas,  v.  94 :  ''  If  thou  art  in 
doubt  concerning  any  part  of  that  which  we  have 
sent  down  to  thee,  ask  them  who  have  read  the  book 
of  the  law  before  thee." 

Sura  XII.,  Surat  ul  Yusuf,  Joseph,  v.  iii. :  "  The 
Quran  is  not  a  new  invented  fiction,  but  a  confirma- 
tion of  those  Scriptures  which  have  been  revealed 
before  it." 

Sura  XVL,  Surat  al  Nahl,  the  Bee,  v.  45.  46:  "We 
have  not  sent  any  before  thee  as  our  apostles,  other 
than  men,  unto  whom  we  spake  by  revelation.  In- 
quire, therefore,  of  those  who'  have  the  custody  of 
the  Scriptures,  if  ye  know  not  this  to  be  truth.  We 
sent  them  with  evident  miracles  and  written  revela- 
tions." 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  15 

These  specimen  quotations  suffice  to  show  that  the 
Quran  testifies  to  the  divine  character  of  the  books 
received  as  sacred  by  Jews  and  Christians. 

We  do  not  depend  on  this  testimony  to  authenti- 
cate our  Scriptures ;  their  authority  is  estabhshed  by 
other  and  quite  independent  proofs,  but  to  show  that 
Muhammad  relied  on  them  to  furnish  a  basis  for 
Islam. 

His  followers,  in  declining  to  accept  them,  destroy 
the  foundation  of  their  own  faith ;  as,  while  the  Bible 
does  not  require  the  Quran,  the  Quran  cannot  stand 
for  a  moment  without  the  Bible. 


Why  Muslims  Refuse  the  Testimony  of  Our  Script- 
ures, 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  Muslims,  in  theory,  accept  the 
sacred  books,  but  they  rule  their  testimony  out  of 
court  by  the  following  assertions : 

First.  The  genuine  books  are  lost  to  us,  having 
been  miraculously  removed  from  earth. 

Second.  They  no  longer  exist  in  their  original 
form,  having  been  distorted,  mutilated,  and  changed 
by  Jews  and  Christians  to  discredit  the  claims  of 
Muhammad  and  destroy  the  evidence  they  once  con- 
tained to  his  prophetic  office. 

Finally,  as  already  stated,  their  contents  have  been 
superseded  and  abrogated  by  the  Quran,  which,  as 


l6  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  final  revelation,  contains  all  that  man  needs  to 
know. 

We  might  say  the  necessity  which  seems  to  be  so 
strongly  and  universally  felt  of  getting  rid  in  some 
way  of  the  previous  Scriptures  is  a  singular  circum- 
stance. It  looks  as  if  a  witness  had  been  called  whose 
testimony  turns  out  to  be  not  exactly  what  was 
wanted,  and  who  must  be  silenced  or  discredited. 
One  cannot  but  inquire  why  Islam  now  ignores  and 
neglects  the  records  to  which  in  former  times  it 
so  confidently  appealed. 

Answer  to  First  Charge, 

Let  us  look  more  closely  at  these  three  statements, 
and  first  at  the  charge  that  the  Lord  Jesus  when  he 
ascended  to  heaven  took  the  In j  eel  with  him — so  that 
we  now  have  only  the  narratives  of  his  apostles,  not 
inspired,  but  standing  on  the  same  footing  as  tradi- 
tion. 

If  this  be  true,  is  it  not  strange  that  the  Quran 
never  mentions  the  fact,  but  allows  us  to  suppose  the 
Gospel  genuine,  as  we  saw  in  the  citations  referring 
to  the  Lord  Jesus?  Muhammad's  revelation  was 
promulgated  more  than  six  hundred  years  after  the 
birth  of  Christ,  but  it  gives  no  hint  of  the  Gospel 
having  been  withdrawn  from  earth.  He  speaks  of 
is  as  existing  in  his  day,  and  appeals  to  it  as  the 
Word  of  God,  saying  nothing  to  show  that  he  re- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  17 

garded  it  as  less  trustworthy  than  his  own  prophe- 
cies, or  of  a  lower  grade  of  inspiration. 

This  charge  has  never  been  made  by  any  but  Mus- 
lims, and  they  offer  not  a  shadow  of  proof  to  sustain 
it,  documentary  or  otherwise.  Until  they  do  pro- 
duce some  reasonable  testimony  we  surely  need  not 
feel  called  upon  to  consider  bare  assertions. 

We  may  say,  however,  that  we  have  every  reason 
to  believe  no  written  Gospel  existed  in  the  time  of 
our  Lord,  nor  for  some  time  after  his  ascension. 
His  words  lived  in  the  hearts  and  were  reproduced 
in  the  lives  of  those  who  accepted  his  doctrine.  The 
apostles  were  his  witnesses,  and  were  specially 
aided  by  divine  power  to  give  his  teachings  to  the 
world.  Before  their  death  they  recorded  his  words 
and  acts  in  writings  which  are  accepted  by  the 
Christian  Church  as  from  God.  We  believe  their  in- 
spiration to  have  been  by  the  action  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  on  their  minds,  in  accordance  with  the  fol- 
lowing words  of  the  Saviour : 

John  xiv.  23-25 :  ''  If  a  man  love  me,  he  will 
keep  my  words,  and  my  Father  will  love  him,  and 
we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our  abode  with 
him.  He  that  loveth  me  not  keepeth  not  my  say- 
ings :  and  the  word  which  ye  hear  is  not  mine,  but 
the  Father's  which  sent  me.  These  things  have 
I  spoken  unto  you,  being  yet  present  with  you.  But 
the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you 


1 8  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance, 
whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you." 

John  xvi.  12-14:  ''I  have  yet  many  things  to 
say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  How- 
beit  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth;  for  he  shall  not  speak  of 
himself;  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he 
speak:  and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come.  He 
shall  glorify  me:  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine,  and 
shall  show  it  unto  you." 

Testimony  of  Apostles  to  the  Inspiration  of  the  New 
Testament. 

The  disciples  tell  us  that,  agreeably  to  this  prom- 
ise, ten  days  after  our  Lord's  ascension,  they  did  re- 
ceive the  Holy  Spirit,  abiding  in  and  with  them,  in 
the  power  of  a  new  life,  so  that  they  were  used  by 
him  as  instruments  through  whom  he  revealed  the 
doctrines  and  life  of  Christ  to  the  world.  They  uni- 
formly give  this  view  of  their  inspiration,  as  shown 
by  the  following  passages,  identifying  it  in  nature 
and  degree  with  that  of  all  true  prophets : 

I  Peter  i.  10-12 :  ''Of  which  salvation  the  proph- 
ets have  inquired  and  searched  diligently,  who 
prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come  unto  you : 
searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify,  when  it  tes- 
tified beforehand  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the 
glory  that  should  follow.     Unto  whom  it  was  re- 


ISLAM     AND     CHRISTIANITY.  ig 

vealed,  that  not  unto  themselves,  but  unto  us,  they 
did  minister  the  things  which  are  now  reported  unto 
you  by  them  that  have  preached  the  Gospel  unto  you 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven;  which 
things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into." 

2  Peter  i.  19 :  ''  We  have  also  a  more  sure  word 
of  prophecy;  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take 
heed,  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place, 
until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  daystar  arise  in  your 
hearts.  Knowing  this  first,  that  no  prophecy  of  the 
Scripture  is  of  any  private  interpretation.  For  the 
prophecy  came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man : 
but  holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

2  Peter  iii.  2 :  "  That  ye  may  be  mindful  of 
the  words  which  were  spoken  before  by  the  holy 
prophets,  and  of  the  commandment  of  us,  the  apos- 
tles of  the  Lord  and  Saviour." 

2  Timothy  iii.  16:  ''All  Scripture  is  given  by 
inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 
reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness." 

Regarding  the  apostles  merely  as  men  of  veracity, 
should  we  not  examine  their  own  account  of  their 
inspiration  before  peremptorily  passing  judgment, 
and  deciding  their  writings  to  be  only  uninspired  tra- 
dition; and  even  as  such,  not  worthy  to  receive  the 
attention  given  to  Muslim  tradition? 


20  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Second  Charge  Considered, 

You  may  ask,  Suppose  we  accept  the  Scriptures 
in  their  original  form  as  proceeding  from  God,  plac- 
ing the  New  Testament  on  the  same  footing  as  the 
Old,  may  they  not  at  some  time  have  been  tampered 
with  by  Jews  or  Christians  so  that  they  are  no  longer 
reliable  ? 

You  will  readily  allow  that  to  effect  these  changes 
some  concert  of  action  would  be  necessary  between 
Jews  and  Christians,  and  we  may  add  that  no  altera- 
tion or  omission  could  be  made  in  the  Pentateuch,  at 
least,  without  obtaining  the  consent  and  co-operation 
of  the  Samaritans,  who  have  never  held  fellowship 
with  either  of  the  two  great  ''  peoples  of  the  book." 
By  origin  a  mixed  heathen  people,  transferred  to 
Palestine  by  the  fortunes  of  war  more  than  seven 
hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  and  there 
accepting  the  Mosaic  law  in  a  modified  form,  they 
still  exist  in  that  land,  as  a  feeble  remnant,  holding 
the  books  of  Moses,  Joshua,  and  Judges  as  sacred. 
Recent  travellers  describe  them  as  numbering  now 
"  scarcely  a  hundred  persons  living  at  Nablous 
(Shechem)  in  Syria,  preserving  an  ancient  copy  of 
the  Pentateuch,  keeping  up  an  annual  sacrifice  of  the 
Passover  on  Mount  Gerizim,  living  peaceful  and 
moral  lives,  and  observing  with  some  peculiar  varia- 
tions the  Mosaic  Law." 

The  questions  between  us  cannot  be  settled  with- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  2 1 

out  reference  to  them,  for  the  Scriptures  they  pre- 
serve with  jealous  care,  independently  of  Jew  or 
Christian,  include  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy,  con- 
taining a  famous  prophecy  to  which  Muslims  appeal 
as  foretelling  the  rise  and  mission  of  Muhammad. 

If  the  Book  has  been  corrupted  at  any  point  in 
order  to  destroy  its  witness  to  Islam,  surely  we  may 
look  for  it  here. 

Witnesses  to  the  Bible. 

Let  us  name  the  different  bodies  of  men  who  ac- 
cept our  Holy  Scriptures  as  a  whole  or  in  part. 

First,  the  Samaritans  hold  the  seven  books  placed 
first  in  order  in  the  Old  Testament. 

Second,  the  Jews  receive  all  the  books  of  the  Old 
Testament. 

Third,  the  Christian  Church  in  all  its  divisions, 
which  may  be  roughly  stated  as  three — Eastern, 
Western,  and  Protestant — accept  the  former  writ- 
ings with  the  addition  of  the  New  Testament,  be- 
lieving all  to  be  the  divinely  inspired  and  infallible 
Word  of  God,  precisely  as  Muslims,  whether  Shiah, 
Sunni,  or  Wahhabi,  receive  the  Quran. 

For  six  hundred  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ 
the  Jew  and  Samaritan  were  bitterly  hostile  to  each 
other ;  the  Jews  were  also  divided  among  themselves 
into  opposite  religious  sects.  At  no  time  did  there 
exist  between  these  parties  the  concord  necessary  to 


22  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

ensure  the  alteration  or  suppression  of  any  part  of 
their  books,  or  to  allow  a  spurious  addition  to  them. 

The  advent  of  Christianity,  received  as  it  was  by 
the  Jews  with  jealous  hatred,  added  to  the  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  of  making  a  change  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 

But  the  Christian  Church  was  soon  divided  by 
various  opinions,  the  differences  culminating  in  the 
establishment  of  the  Eastern  Church,  with  its  head 
at  Constantinople,  the  new  Rome,  and  the  Western, 
under  the  Bishop  or  Pope  of  Old  Rome.  Minor 
divisions  existed,  such  as  the  Coptic  and  Abyssinian 
churches  in  Africa,  the  Armenian  and  Nestorian 
in  Western  Asia.  Regarding  more  their  points  of  dif- 
ference than  those  of  agreement,  each  of  these  great 
churches,  jealous  and  distrustful  of  the  others,  con- 
sidered itself  the  divinely  appointed  custodian  of  the 
oracles  of  God,  a  priceless  treasure  to  be  guarded 
with  the  utmost  care  from  corruption.  While  print- 
ing was  as  yet  unknown,  and  copies  must  be  made 
by  hand,  great  vigilance  was  exercised  in  the  process 
lest  errors  should  creep  into  the  text — vigilance  cer- 
tainly not  inferior  to  that  exercised  by  the  successive 
transcribers  of  the  Quran,  the  same  precautions  of 
counting  letters,  etc.,  being  taken  in  the  former 
as  in  the  latter  case.  Grave  errors  of  doctrine  and 
practice  did,  indeed,  enter  the  early  church,  but  their 
origin  is  not  to  be  traced  to  any  corruption  of  the 
Scriptures,  but  to  strong  influences  received  from 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  23 

a  baptized  heathenism  which  poisoned  the  fountains 
of  Christian  Hfe.  The  Bible  itself  remained  intact, 
though  multiplied  in  many  copies,  and  diffused  in 
several  languages  in  many  lands. 

We  are  now  confronted  by  the  fact  that  in  our 
own  times  we  find  the  portions  of  Scripture  held 
by  Jew,  Christian,  and  Samaritan  in  substantial 
agreement  with  each  other.  This  is  admitted  by 
every  one  who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  examine  the 
subject. 

Corruptions  of  Scripture. 

Supposing,  then,  the  book  to  have  been  altered  and 
corrupted,  three  questions  must  be  answered  by  the 
Muslim  who  holds  this  view : 

By  whom  were  the  Scriptures  corrupted? 

Why  w^ere  they  corrupted  ? 

When  were  they  corrupted  ? 

Several  difficulties  meet  us  here.  How  could  men 
at  variance  with  each  other  on  so  many  points  agree 
to  make  the  alleged  changes  ?  How  did  they  impose 
them  successfully  on  both  their  adherents  and  their 
opponents  ?  Heathen  and  infidel  w^ere  not  ignorant 
of  the  history  and  contents  of  the  Bible;  many,  hop- 
ing to  refute  it  even  in  early  times,  made  it  the  object 
of  diligent  study. 

We  must  not  only  admit  that  the  innovators  sue- 
ceeded  in  these  respects,  but  assume  that  they  were 
able  to  alter  all  existing  copies  of  the  Bible,  and, 


24  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

greatest  wonder  of  all,  in  such  profound  secrecy  that 
not  a  trace  remains  in  history  or  literature  of  their 
labors.  Can  our  Muslim  friends  tell  us  what  won- 
derful man  or  body  of  men  accomplished  this  her- 
culean task  ? 

Recension  of  the  Quran, 

We  are  reminded,  in  this  connection,  of  the 
famous  recension  of  the  Quran.  As  we  learn  from 
reliable  Muslim  historians,  ''  the  various  portions 
recited  by  the  Prophet  during  the  twenty-three  years 
of  his  prophetical  career  were  committed  to  writing 
by  some  of  his  followers,  or  treasured  up  in  their 
memories.  As  the  recital  of  the  Quran  formed  a 
part  of  every  act  of  public  worship,  and  as  such  re- 
cital was  an  act  of  great  reUgious  merit,  every  Mus- 
lim tried  to  remember  as  much  as  he  could.  He  who 
could  do  so  best  was  entitled  to  the  highest  honor, 
and  was  often  the  recipient  of  a  substantial  reward. 
The  Arab  love  for  poetry  facilitated  the  exercise  of 
this  faculty.  When  the  Prophet  died  the  revelation 
ceased.  There  was  no  distinct  copy  of  the  whole, 
nothing  to  show  what  was  of  transitory  importance, 
what  of  permanent  value.  There  is  nothing  which 
proves  that  the  Prophet  took  any  special  care  of  any 
portions.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  definite  order 
in  which,  when  the  book  was  compiled,  the  various 
Suras  were  arranged,  for  the  Quran,  as  it  now  exists, 
is  utterly  devoid  of  all  historical  or  logical  sequence. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  25 

For  a  year  after  the  Prophet's  death  nothing  seems 
to  have  been  done;  but  then  the  battle  of  Yemana 
took  place,  in  which  a  very  large  number  of  the  best 
Quran  reciters  were  slain.  Omar  took  fright  at  this, 
and  addressing  the  Khalif  Abu  Bakr,  said :  ''  The 
slaughter  may  again  wax  hot  amongst  the  repeaters 
of  the  Quran  in  other  fields  of  battle,  and  much  may 
be  lost  therefrom.  Now,  therefore,  my  advice  is 
that  thou  shouldest  give  speedy  orders  for  the  col- 
lection of  the  Quran."  Abu  Bakr  agreed,  and  said 
to  Zaid,  who  had  been  an  amanuensis  of  the  Prophet : 
"  Thou  art  a  young  man,  and  wise,  against  whom 
no  one  amongst  us  can  cast  an  imputation ;  and  thou 
wert  wont  to  write  down  the  inspired  revelations  of 
the  Prophet  of  the  Lord ;  wherefore  now  search  out 
the  Quran  and  bring  it  together."  Zaid,  being  at 
length  pressed  to  undertake  the  task,  proceeded  to 
gather  the  Quran  together  from  "  date  leaves  and 
tablets  of  white  stone,  and  from  the  hearts  of  men." 
In  course  of  time  it  was  all  compiled  in  the  order  in 
which  the  book  is  now  arranged.  This  was  the  au- 
thorized text  for  some  twenty-three  years  after  the 
death  of  Muhammad.  Owing,  however,  either  to 
different  modes  of  recitation,  or  to  differences  of 
expression  in  the  sources  from  which  Zaid's  first  re- 
cension was  made,  a  variety  of  different  readings 
crept  into  the  copies  in  use.  The  Faithful  became 
alarmed,  and  the  Khalif  Osman  was  persuaded  to 
put  a  stop  to  such  a  danger.     He  appointed  Zaid, 


26  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

with  three  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Quraish  as  as- 
sistants, to  go  over  the  whole  work  again.  A  careful 
recension  was  made  of  the  whole  book,  which  was 
then  assimilated  to  the  Meccan  dialect,  the  purest  in 
Arabia.  After  this  all  other  copies  of  the  Quran 
were  burnt  by  order  of  the  Khali f,  and  new  tran- 
scripts were  made  of  the  revised  edition,  which  was 
now  the  only  authorized  copy."* 

So  far  from  being  a  secret  transaction,  this  is  his- 
torical and  intelligible,  the  actors,  time,  place, 
motives,  and  often  the  changes  or  corrections  being 
traceable.  There  are  even  traditions  recounting  cer- 
tain passages  which  they  say  were  omitted.  The 
Shiahs,  for  example,  maintained  that  the  following 
verses  were  omitted  in  Osman's  recension : 

"  O  Believers!  believe  in  the  two  lights  (Muham- 
mad and  Ali). 

"  Ali  is  of  the  number  of  the  pious ;  we  shall  give 
him  his  right  in  the  day  of  judgment ;  we  shall  not 
pass  over  those  who  wish  to  deceive  him.  We  have 
honored  him  above  all  this  family.  He  and  his  fam- 
ily are  very  patient.  Their  enemyf  is  the  chief  of 
sinners.  We  have  announced  to  thee  a  race  of  just 
men,t  men  who  will  not  oppose  our  orders.  My 
mercy  and  peace  are  on  them,  living§  or  dead. 

"  As  to  those  who  walk  in  their  way,  my  mercy  is 

*Faith  of  Islam,  second  edition,  pp.  g,  lo. 

tMuawiyah.  iThe  Twelve  Imams. 

§A1  Mahdi  is  supposed  to  be  still  alive. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  27 

on  them;  they  will  certainly  gain  the  mansions  of 
Paradise." — Faith  of  Islam,  pp.  12,  13. 

Motive  of  Forgers. 

If  we  now  ask,  what  was  the  motive  leading 
to  the  forgeries  and  omissions  said  to  exist  in  the 
Bible?  we  are  told  they  were  made  in  order  to  de- 
stroy the  evidence  furnished  by  prophecy  to  the  mis- 
sion of  Muhammad. 

When  was  the  Bible  Corrupted f 

This  involves  us  at  once  in  our  last  question, 
"When  did  these  alleged  corruptions  take  place?" 
Was  it  before  or  after  the  advent  of  your  Prophet  ? 

If  before,  how  can  we  escape  the  conclusion  that 
those  who  made  them  were  gifted  with  prophetic 
foresight  by  which  they  anticipated  the  rise  of  a  new 
religion  in  Arabia,  and  were  moved  to  destroy  be- 
forehand the  testimony  by  which  it  would  seek  to 
establish  its  claims? 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  God  would  allow  to 
his  enemies  a  knowledge  of  future  events  to  be  used 
by  them  in  thwarting  his  own  plans. 

If  we  adopt  the  other  hypothesis,  these  changes 
could  not  have  taken  place  very  soon  after  the  death 
of  Muhammad,  for  the  parties  interested  in  making 
them  were  many  of  them  not  aware  of  his  existence 


28  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

or  of  the  foundation  of  Islam  till  many  years  after 
his  death. 

In  that  case,  it  would  seem  as  if  their  contempo- 
rary Muslims  might  have  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  facts,  such  as  we  have  of  the  recension  of  the 
Quran.  Muhammad  himself  settles  the  question  by 
his  own  testimony,  by  accepting  the  Scriptures  of  his 
day  in  the  hands  of  Jews  and  Gentiles  as  the 
Word  of  God,  and  by  repeatedly  adjuring  their  pos- 
sessors to  examine  them  for  the  proofs  of  his  divine 
mission.  He  does  charge  the  Jews  of  Medina  with 
concealing  and  denying  the  truth  with  regard  to  him- 
self, but  never  with  not  having  access  to  it.  Would 
God  suffer  his  prophet  to  appeal  to  an  already  cor- 
rupted witness?  Would  he  not  reveal  the  truth  to 
him?  He  even  speaks  of  the  Quran  as  "  confirm- 
ing that  Scripture  which  was  revealed  before  it,  and 
preserving  the  same  safe  from  corruption." 

It  seems,  then,  either  no  corruption  had  occurred 
previous  to  his  time,  or  he  was  not  informed  of  it, 
his  disciples  being  in  that  case  wiser  than  their 
master. 

Our  Bible  the  Same  as  in  Muhammad's  Day. 

If  you  desire  substantial  proof  that  our  Bible  is 
the  same  as  that  extant  in  the  time  of  Muhammad, 
let  us  look  at  a  few  facts. 

At  the  rise  of  Islam,  the  Old  Testament  had  ex- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  29 

isted  in  complete  form  for  about  a  thousand  years, 
the  New  Testament  for  more  than  five  hundred.  The 
books  of  the  latter  especially  were  widely  dif- 
fused, and  many  copies,  some  of  which,  now  ex- 
isting, are  known  to  have  been  made  many  years 
before  Muhammad  was  born. 

When  the  Scriptures  now  in  common  use  are 
compared  with  these  old  manuscripts,  they  are  found 
to  be  in  substantial  agreement,  proving  beyond  a 
doubt  that  no  change  has  taken  place  since  they  were 
produced. 

Of  the  authenticity  of  the  Old  Testament  one 
writes  as  follows :  ''  Although  we  have  no  Old  He- 
brew manuscripts,  we  have  the  translations  made 
into  other  tongues — as  the  Septuagint,  made  into 
Greek  by  Jews  in  Egypt  before  the  time  of  Christ; 
the  Syriac,  made  probably  in  the  second  century 
A.D.,  and  the  Latin  Vulgate,  made  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  fourth  century.  These  are,  for  the  most  part, 
independent  testimonies,  and  not  mere  copies  of 
some  one  common  original,  as  their  verbal  differ- 
ences sufficiently  attest;  but  their  complete  agree- 
ment in  all  essential  points  demonstrates  the  care 
with  which  the  sacred  books  have  been  preserved, 
while  it  establishes  their  integrity  more  satisfactorily 
than  that  of  any  other  ancient  book  is  established." 

The  existing  New  Testament  manuscripts  are  thus 
described : 

"  The  earliest  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament 


30  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

are  called  Uncial,  and  were  written  in  capital  letters 
on  vellum.  Later  than  these,  come  Cursive  mss., 
written  in  a  running  hand.  The  former  date  from 
the  fourth  century  a.d.,  and  number  somewhat 
more  than  a  hundred ;  the  latter  from  the  tenth  cen- 
tury, and  there  are  some  tw^enty-eight  hundred  ac- 
cessible to  scholars.  But  these  numbers  are  con- 
stantly increased  by  new  discoveries.  Within  the 
last  two  or  three  years  such  have  been  made  in  Ara- 
bia and  Egypt." 

Three  of  these  old  manuscripts  are  famous  for 
their  age  and  great  value  to  scholars.  It  is  a  note- 
worthy circumstance  that  one  of  these,  copied  in 
the  fifth  century  after  Christ,  and  the  second  before 
Muhammad,  is  to  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum 
at  London,  in  the  Protestant  country  of  England. 

One  of  the  fourth  century  a.d.,  therefore  many 
years  older,  is  the  property  of  the  Pope  of  Rome,  the 
head  of  the  Roman  Catholic,  or  Western,  Church. 

The  third  copy,  also  of  the  fourth  century,  be- 
longs to  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  the  head  of  the  East- 
ern, or  Greek  Church.  These  old  manuscripts  of 
the  New  Testament  agree  with  each  other,  and  with 
those  issued  by  the  printing-presses  of  to-day.  Any 
variation  of  importance  would  be  at  once  detected 
and  made  known  to  the  Christian  and  Jewish  world, 
who  have  not  received  their  Scriptures  without  good 
evidence,  and  are  not  likely  to  abandon  them  without 
the  best  of  reasons. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  31 

Islam  is  but  one  of  many  assailants  who  have  at- 
tacked the  credibility  of  these  books  from  different 
sides,  but  have  found  in  them  "  an  anvil  which  has 
worn  out  many  hammers." 

Authenticity  of  the  Quran. 

I  once  said  to  you  that  it  was  difficult  to  under- 
stand the  implicit  faith  with  which  a  Shiah  Muslim 
receives  his  Quran,  while  rejecting  the  compilers, 
the  first  three  Caliphs,  and  not  hesitating  to  charge 
them  with  the  suppression  of  verses  which  he  regards 
as  of  vital  importance,  and  with  a  disobedience  to 
the  direct  commands  of  God  through  his  Prophet, 
which  was  the  cause  of  unbounded  disaster  to  Islam. 
Could  men  capable  of  such  conduct  be  trusted  to 
transmit  other  truths  faithfully  ?  Among  the  twelve 
disciples  of  our  Lord  Jesus  one  was  found  who  cared 
only  for  his  own  aggrandizement,  and  even  sold  his 
Master  for  a  price;  but  he  was  lost  forever  to  their 
number,  and  had  no  part  or  lot  in  giving  the  narra- 
tive of  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  to  the  world. 
There  remains  no  Gospel  of  Judas  Iscariot,  and  if 
there  did,  no  Christian  would  accept  it  as  worthy 
of  confidence. 

You  smiled  and  said  my  objection  was  an  old  one, 
and  had  already  been  fully  considered.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  when  the  Quran  was  put  in  book 
form  the  son-in-law  of  the  Prophet,  Ali  Murtaza, 


32  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

and  his  grandson's  sons  Hassan  and  Houssain,  were 
still  living,  with  most  of  his  wives;  many  of  his 
relatives  and  companions,  the  Muhajirin,  who  had 
fled  with  him  from  Mecca,  and  the  Ansars,  the  help- 
ers of  Medina.  These  were  so  familiar  with  the 
Suras,  and  the  conditions  of  their  revelation  and  in- 
terpretation, that  they  alone  have  been  considered 
worthy  to  give  authoritative  explanations  of  the 
Quran,  it  being  deemed  presumption  on  the  part  of 
any  since  their  generation  to  attempt  to  ascertain 
for  himself  the  meaning  of  any  passage.  Some  of 
these  knew  the  entire  book  by  heart,  and  many  others 
had  memorized  portions  which  they  had  often 
heard  from  the  lips  of  the  Prophet ;  all  reverenced  it 
so  deeply  that  any  change  would  be  at  once  detected 
and  exposed.  You  said  also  that  the  divisions  which 
so  soon  arose  in  Islam  gave  an  additional  and  val- 
uable guarantee  of  its  genuineness.  You  compared 
it  to  a  sealed  casket  of  jewels  perpetually  guarded 
by  vigilant  rivals,  who  must  be  reconciled  and  agree 
together  before  either  can  open  the  treasure  and  ab- 
stract a  single  gem.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  such  har- 
mony has  never  yet  prevailed,  and  is  not  likely  to 
occur  in  Islam. 

Very  well.  If  your  reasoning  holds  good  for  the 
Quran,  it  is  equally  applicable  to  our  New  Testa- 
ment, which  was  reduced  to  writing  in  the  lifetime 
of  the  apostles,  and  of  myriads  of  the  followers  of 
Christ  who  had  seen  his  face,  heard  his  words,  been 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  33 

eye-witnesses  and  some  even  subjects  of  his  miracu- 
lous power. 

I  hope,  then,  you  will  not  refuse  to  believe  that 
the  Scriptures  we  offer  for  your  perusal  are  the  true 
and  uncorrupted  Word  of  God. 


Has  the  Bible  Been  Superseded? 

Granting  this,  is  it  possible  that,  having  been  su- 
perseded or  abrogated  by  the  Quran,  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  have  survived  their  usefulness,  and 
have  now  no  word  to  say  to  which  man  need  listen  ? 

If  this  were  true,  it  still  seems  as  if  any  commu- 
nication which  the  high  and  holy  God  had  ever 
deigned  to  make  to  his  creatures  must,  from  the 
character  of  its  Author  and  his  relationship  to  us, 
be  unspeakably  interesting  and  precious,  and,  as  such, 
well  worth  our  attention.  Again,  were  it  possible 
for  such  a  revelation  to  lose  all  other  importance,  it 
would  still,  by  its  style,  contents,  and  character,  fur- 
nish a  standard  of  comparison  by  which  we  might 
demonstrate  for  our  own  and  others'  satisfaction  its 
unity  of  origin  and  consistency  with  the  subsequent 
and  superseding  revelations. 

Suppose,  further,  that  God's  dealings  with  man 
could  so  change  that  we  should  no  longer  be 
governed  by  the  revelations  which  guided  the  holy 
men  of  old,  could  we  discover  in  their  history  and 
example  nothing  to  profit  us  and  promote  the  glory 


34  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

of  God?  We  find  there  the  record  of  their  inmost 
life,  their  prayers  and  praises,  their  conflicts  and 
victories  ?  Are  they  nothing  to  us  ?  Men  naturally 
desire  to  look  into  the  history  of  the  race.  In  the 
Bible  alone  we  have  absolutely  reliable  records  de- 
riving incalculable  value  as  being  written  from  the 
Divine  standpoint.  Is  it  credible  that  God  himself 
debars  our  study  of  the  most  wonderful  history  and 
the  only  truthful  one  the  world  has  ever  seen?  We 
long  ardently  to  know  what  is  to  be  the  future  of  our 
race  and  of  our  world.  Only  one  book  furnishes  the 
desired  information,  and  by  its  many  prophecies  al- 
ready fulfilled  justifies  our  expectation  that  those 
remaining  unfulfilled,  extending  to  the  end  of  time, 
shall  yet  come  to  pass.  God  himself  enjoins  and 
blesses  their  study;  we  cannot  believe  he  gave 
them  to  be  superseded  in  five  hundred  years  by  a 
book  conspicuously  devoid  of  prediction. 
But  let  us  appeal  to  God's  own  Word. 

Testimony  of  the  Bible. 

Psalms  cxix.  152,  160:  ''Concerning  thy  testi- 
monies I  have  known  of  old  that  thou  hast  founded 
them  forever.  Thy  word  is  true  from  the  beginning, 
and  every  one  of  thy  righteous  judgments  endureth 
forever." 

In  Isaiah  viii.  20  the  Jews  are  commanded  to 
look   "to  the  law  and  the  testimony." 


ISLAM     AND     CHRISTIANITY.  35 

The  Lord  Jesus  exhorts  the  men  of  his  day  to 
"  search  the  Scriptures,"  referring  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  New  Testament  not  being  then  written. 

Nothing  in  any  Scripture  shows  that  it  is  ever  to 
pass  away.  On  the  contrary,  Christ  says  of  the  Old 
Testament : 

Matt.  V.  17,  18:  "  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to 
destroy  the  law,  or  the  prophets :  I  am  not  come  to 
destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  Till 
heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in 
no  wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled." 

And  touching  the  New  Testament : 

Matt.  xxiv.  35  :  "  Heaven  and  earth  shall  pass 
away,  but  my  words  shall  not  pass  away." 

Had  God  intended  after  six  hundred  years  to  ab- 
rogate the  Old  and  New  Testament  and  substitute 
the  Quran,  he  would  surely  have  given  some  inti- 
mation of  it ;  as  he  has  not  done  so,  but  rather  taught 
us  to  believe  the  Scriptures  of  lasting  authority,  those 
v/ho  neglect  and  discredit  them  assume  a  grave  re- 
sponsibility, and  run  a  serious  risk  of  committing  a 
fatal  error.  I  beg  you,  therefore,  to  make  the  sacred 
books  an  object  of  careful  and  reverent  study. 

Character  of  the  Scriptures. 

If  we  now  proceed  to  examine  the  Holy  Bible  we 
shall  learn  from  itself  it  was  given  to  the  world  by 
the  agency  of  many  men,  though  of  one  nation,  in 


36  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

three  different  languages,  Hebrew,  Chaldean,  and 
Greek,  in  widely  distant  times  and  varying  circum- 
stances. 

It  is  a  book  for  the  whole  earth,  not  local  or  pro- 
vincial, dealing  with  many  nations ;  indeed,  with  the 
whole  race  of  man.  It  is,  therefore,  adapted  and 
intelligible  to  all.  It  comprises  every  variety  of  lit- 
erature— narrative,  poetic,  didactic,  etc.  It  is  com- 
posed of  sixty-six  books,  written  by  at  least  forty 
men,  possibly  by  many  more,  since  they  were  not 
anxious  to  perpetuate  their  own  names,  but  to  pro- 
mote the  glory  of  God,  whose  instruments  they  pro- 
fessed to  be.  The  stations,  education,  and  occupa- 
tions of  these  writers  were  as  diverse  as  one  can  im- 
agine, from  a  herdsman  and  gatherer  of  sycamore 
fruit  to  a  powerful  mind  renowned  for  wisdom ;  em- 
bracing a  poor  fisherman  taken  from  his  boat  and 
nets,  and  the  brilliant  intellect  trained  in  the  learning 
of  the  foremost  schools  of  his  day. 

The  time  which  elapsed  from  the  writing  of  the 
first  book  to  the  completion  of  the  whole  cannot  be 
less  than  sixteen  hundred  years,  a  period  in  which 
great  social  and  governmental  changes  took  place. 


'Unify  of  Scripture. 

One  would  consider  it  hopeless  to  look  for  any- 
thing like  coherence  in  the  contents  and  spirit  of  such 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  37 

a  work,  but  the  reader  is  amazed  to  find  it  produces 
the  impression  of  a  communication  from  one  will 
and  one  intelHgence,  consistent  and  unchanging,  the 
mind  of  a  Master  using  the  hand  of  different  scribes 
to  convey  his  meaning,  while  he  alone  dictates  the 
message  they  transmit. 

''  The  wonderful  truth  in  reference  to  all  the  books 
is,  that  when  brought  together  from  so  many  sources, 
from  so  many  ages,  in  so  many  styles,  and  com- 
posed separately,  without  reference  to  their  final  col- 
lection in  one  volume,  there  should  be  found  through 
them  all  an  absolute  harmony  in  their  revelations 
of  the  character  and  purposes  of  God,  of  the  nature 
and  necessities  of  man,  and  of  the  one  great  divine 
plan  of  human  redemption.  Each  portion  seems  to 
be  naturally  related  to  the  others,  and  has  an  im- 
portant office  to  perform  in  completing  the  perfect 
and  harmonious  scheme."* 

For  eighteen  hundred  years  the  infidel  and  enemy 
has  vainly  sought  for  contradictions  and  discrepan- 
cies. Not  only  is  the  volume  consistent  with  itself 
and  with  the  discoveries  of  science,  history,  and 
archaeology,  but  far  more,  it  has  shown  itself  capable 
of  meeting  the  deepest  and  most  complex  needs  of 
the  human  heart,  and  successfully  guiding  all  the 
affairs  of  life. 

In  subjects  and  style  it  is  worthy  of  its  professed 
origin  and  reputed  Author ;  it  is  the  one  book  which 
*Thc  Word  of  God  Opened, 


38  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

never  wearies,  never  disappoints,  to  which  old  and 
young,  rich  and  poor,  learned  and  ignorant,  of  every 
time  and  nation,  resort  with  ever-growing  love  and 
admiration,  finding  in  its  pages  counsel,  comfort, 
hope,  and  strength. 

In  its  copious  variety  and  wondrous  adaptation 
to  human  need  it  resembles  nothing  so  much  as  the 
visible  frame  of  nature,  its  corresponding  volume, 
written  by  the  same  Author,  and  bearing  the  same 
signature  of  infinite  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness. 
Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  T.  Pierson  well  says :  "  The  work 
will  bear  the  marks  of  the  workman — his  knowledge, 
wisdom,  skin,  and  design.  Moreover,  the  more  per- 
fect the  workmanship  the  more  complete  the  exhi- 
bition of  the  character  of  Him  who  thought  out  and 
wrought  out  such  perfection  of  product.  It  is  very 
remarkable  that  sevenfold  perfection  is  claimed  for 
the  Word  of  God.  We  associate  with  him  w^ho  is 
its  author  seven  attributes,  such  as  omnipotence,  om- 
niscience, omnipresence — natural  attributes — and 
providence,  truth,  righteousness,  and  love — moral 
attributes.  All  these  his  Word  displays  in  a  re- 
markable degree. 

"  His  Omnipotence  in  the  miracles  of  power  which 
it  records. 

"  His  Omniscience  in  its  predictive  prophecies. 

*'  His  Omnipresence  in  the  unity  of  its  plan  and 
structure. 

"  His  Providence  in  its  history  and  geography. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY,  39 

"  His  Truth  in  its  general  accuracy,  its  conformity 
to  nature,  reason,  etc. 

"  His  Righteousness  in  its  faultless  morality. 

'^  His  Love  in  its  transforming  energy. 

"'  All  these  proofs  of  its  transforming  energy  lie 
within  itself,  so  that  we  have  only  to  search  the 
Scriptures  to  find  God's  sevenfold  seal  impressed 
upon  them  all  the  way  through.'' 

Position  of  Man  in  the  Universe. 

Let  me  call  your  attention  to  a  few  facts  which 
custom  has  made  to  us  such  a  matter  of  course  that 
we  fail  to  give  them  their  deserved  importance, 
often,  indeed,  to  consider  them  at  all. 

So  far  as  we  can  judge,  our  race  occupies  a  pe- 
culiar position  in  creation.  We  are  aware  of 
the  existence  of  other  worlds  and  other  beings  not 
like  ourselves,  confined  by  the  law  of  gravitation  to 
one  planet,  but  allowed  to  pass  from  place  to  place, 
frequent  visitors  of  our  world,  though  from  some 
cause  our  senses  are  generally  incapable  of  perceiv- 
ing their  presence.  We  learn  from  the  Bible  that 
these  spirits  are  either  good  or  bad  in  character,  that 
they  have  power  to  influence  our  minds  while  them- 
selves unseen  by  us,  but  that  it  is  possible,  under 
exceptional  circumstances,  for  us  to  recognize  and 
communicate  with  them.  That  such  intercourse  is 
so  rare,  so  terrifying,  apparently  so  unnatural,  is  a 


40  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

subject  demanding  grave  thought.  We  have  been 
taught  that  death  is  not  the  end  of  our  personal  and 
conscious  existence,  that  the  members  of  our  own 
race,  though  constantly  vanishing  from  our  midst, 
have  not  ceased  to  be,  but  have  only  passed  behind 
a  veil,  which  we  are  unable  to  lift.  If  we  consult 
Scripture,  we  find  ourselves  forbidden  to  seek  inter- 
course with  the  dead,  and  can  only  wonder  why  such 
communication  is  prohibited.  Is  it  possible  that  our 
state  is  abnormal,  like  that  of  prisoners  debarred  ac- 
cess to  those  for  whose  society  they  are  unfit,  and  de- 
prived of  privileges  of  which  they  are  unworthy? 
Or  like  the  miserable  leper,  isolated  partly  that  his 
loathsome  disease  may  not  spread  to  others,  partly 
that  the  sight  of  his  sufferings  may  not  offend  those 
who  are  in  health?  Or,  to  use  a  less  gloomy  com- 
parison, can  we  be  like  invalids,  unable  by  reason  of 
sickness  to  mingle  in  the  activities  and  joys  of  the 
healthy,  for  their  own  good  undergoing  a  con- 
finement and  subject  to  a  regimen  which  may  result 
in  their  restoration  to  circumstances  which  in  their 
present  state  they  could  only  find  injurious  ?  What- 
ever be  our  true  position,  we  understand  enough  to 
know  we  are  blind,  ignorant,  weak,  and  inexperi- 
enced. Should  a  voice,  then,  reach  us  purporting 
to  be  that  of  the  great  God  who  made  and  governs 
us,  preserver  of  our  life  and  arbiter  of  our  destiny, 
with  what  circumspection  should  we  receive  it,  lest 
it  be  the  voice  of  an  enemy  seeking  to  deceive  us  to 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  41 

our  ruin.  Such  an  enemy  we  know  we  have;  if  he 
scrupled  not  to  ply  his  arts,  all  too  successfully,  on 
our  first  parents  in  their  primeval  virtue,  do  we  ex- 
pect him  to  spare  us? 

Eve  fell  because  she  accepted  the  word  of  the 
tempter,  unsupported  by  testimony,  failing  to 
subject  his  truthfulness  to  any  valid  test.  There 
is  danger  that  we  may  fall  into  the  same  snare, 
becoming  not  only  deceived  but  deceivers,  all  the 
more  dangerous  because  we  ourselves  labor  under  a 
strong  delusion,  thus  luring  others  to  follow  in  a 
path  of  destruction.  How  necessary,  then,  that  a 
true  revelation  should  furnish  some  indubitable 
proof,  some  infallible  criterion,  of  its  divine  origin ! 
God  in  his  mercy  has  not  left  us  without  such  a-  test 
of  his  Word. 

'Fulfilled  Prediction  a  Proof  of  Revelation. 

I  refer  to  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy,  of  which  the 
Bible  speaks  as  follows : 

Deut.  xviii.  21,  22:  "And  if  thou  say  in  thine 
heart,  How  shall  we  know  the  word  which  the  Lord 
hath  not  spoken?  When  a  prophet  speaketh  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  if  the  thing  follow  not,  nor  come 
to  pass,  that  is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  hath  not 
spoken,  but  the  prophet  hath  spoken  it  presumptu- 
ously; thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  of  him." 

Jeremiah  xxviii.  9 :     "  The  prophet  that  prophe- 


42  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

sieth  of  peace,  when  the  word  of  the  prophet  shall 
come  to  pass,  then  shall  the  prophet  be  known,  that 
the  Lord  hath  truly  sent  him." 

Isaiah  xli.  21-23:  ''Produce  your  cause,  saith 
the  Lord ;  bring  forth  your  strong  reasons,  saith  the 
King  of  Jacob.  Let  them  bring  forth,  and  show  us 
what  shall  happen ;  let  them  show  the  former  things 
what  they  be,  that  we  may  consider  them  and  know 
the  latter  end  of  them;  or  declare  us  things  for  to 
come.  Show  the  things  that  are  to  come  hereafter, 
that  we  may  know  that  ye  are  gods ;  yea,  do  good, 
or  do  evil,  that  we  may  be  dismayed,  and  behold  it 
together." 

Isaiah  xliv.  7,  8 :  "  And  who,  as  I,  shall  call,  and 
shall  declare  it,  and  set  it  in  order  for  me,  since  I 
appointed  the  ancient  people  ?  and  the  things  that  are 
coming,  and  shall  come,  let  them  show  unto  them. 
Fear  ye  not,  neither  be  afraid ;  have  not  I  told  thee 
from  that  time,  and  have  declared  it?  ye  are  even 
my  witnesses.  Is  there  a  God  beside  me?  Yea,  there 
is  no  God ;  I  know  not  any." 

Isaiah  xlvi.  9,  10 :  "  Remember  the  former  things 
of  old:  for  I  am  God  and  there  is  none  else;  I  am 
God,  and  there  is  none  like  me.  Declaring  the  end 
from  the  beginning,  and  from  ancient  times  the 
things  that  are  not  yet  done,  saying.  My  counsel  shall 
stand,  and  I  will  do  all  my  pleasure." 

Isaiah  xlviii.  3-7 :     "  I  have  declared  the  former 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  43 

things  from  the  beginning ;  and  they  went  forth  out 
of  my  mouth,  and  I  showed  them;  I  did  them  sud- 
denly and  they  came  to  pass.  Because  I  knew  that 
thou  art  obstinate,  and  thy  neck  is  an  iron  sinew, 
and  thy  brow  brass ;  I  have  even  from  the  beginning 
declared  it  to  thee;  before  it  came  to  pass  I  showed 
it  thee :  lest  thou  shouldest  say.  Mine  idol  hath  done 
them,  and  my  graven  image,  and  my  molten  image, 
hath  commanded  them.  Thou  hast  heard;  see  all 
this,  and  wilt  thou  not  declare  it?  I  have  showed 
thee  new  things  from  this  time,  even  hidden  things, 
and  thou  didst  not  know  them.  They  are  created 
now,  and  not  from  the  beginning;  even  before  the 
day  when  thou  heardest  them  not ;  lest  thou  should- 
est say.  Behold,  I  knew  them." 

John  xiv.  29 :  "  And  now  I  have  told  you  before 
it  come  to  pass,  that  when  it  is  come  to  pass  ye  might 
believe." 

Miracles  an  Evidence  of  Revelation. 

Many  of  God's  messengers  were  commissioned  to 
work  miracles  to  confirm  the  truth  of  their  words 
to  the  people  to  whom  they  were  sent.  But  some- 
thing more  than  a  miracle  seems  needed  for  subse- 
quent generations,  and  God  has  thus  graciously  con- 
descended to  furnish  a  test  of  his  Word  which  can 
be  applied  by  every  one  who  is  reached  by  it. 


44  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Trophecies  Immediately  Fulfilled. 

Many  prophecies  were  fulfilled  in  the  lifetime  and 
within  the  knowledge  of  those  to  whom  they  were 
addressed,  who  have  left  their  testimony  to  the  facts, 
as  the  announcements  made  by  Moses  of  the  plagues 
of  Egypt,  and  the  predictions  made  by  our  Lord  of 
the  time,  place,  agents,  and  mode  of  his  death,  of 
his  resurrection  and  ascension. 

Many  were  fulfilled,  not  in  the  time  of  the  genera- 
tion who  heard  them  first,  but  in  a  period  closely  suc- 
ceeding, as,  the  promise  given  by  Jeremiah  of  the  re- 
turn of  the  Jews  from  Babylon  after  seventy  years' 
exile.  Some  of  those  carried  away  in  childhood  sur- 
vived to  see  Jerusalem  again  in  their  old  age.  A 
hundred  years  before,  Isaiah  had  also  prophesied 
their  return,  even  naming  the  Persian  king  who 
should  give  permission  for  the  rebuilding  of  the 
ruined  temple.  Isaiah  xliv.  26-28 :  "  I  am  the  Lord, 
that  confirmeth  the  word  of  his  servant,  and  per- 
formeth  the  counsel  of  his  messengers :  that  saith  to 
Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be  inhabited ;  and  to  the  cities 
of  Judah,  Ye  shall  be  built.  And  I  will  raise  up  the 
decayed  places  thereof.  That  saith  to  the  deep,  Be 
dry,  and  I  will  dry  up  thy  rivers.  That  saith  of 
Cyrus,  He  is  my  shepherd,  and  shall  perform  all  my 
pleasure:  even  saying  to  Jerusalem,  Thou  shalt  be 
built,  and  to  the  temple,  Thy  foundation  shall  be 
laid."    There  are  many  prophecies  of  this  character 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  45 

whose  historical  fulfihiient  we  learn  not  only  from 
the  Bible,  but  from  other  sources.  Other  predictions 
are  being  accomplished  in  our  own  day;  many  re- 
main unfulfilled,  as  yet,  to  furnish  a  witness  to  com- 
ing generations. 

This  proof  is  cumulative,  so  that  we  have  more 
testimony  than  our  ancestors,  as  they  possessed  more 
than  their  fathers. 

Specimen  of  Prophecy. 

For  one  of  the  most  remarkable  prophecies,  cov- 
ering already  twenty-five  hundred  years,  and  we 
know  not  how  much  remaining  time,  let  me  refer 
you  to  the  second  chapter  of  Daniel,  where  four  great 
successive  universal  monarchies  are  shown  in  the 
dream  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  as  the  different  parts  of 
a  gigantic  image  composed  of  various  metals,  and 
finally  destroyed  by  a  power  represented  as  "  a  stone 
cut  out  of  the  mountain  without  hands."  Before 
the  impact  of  this  new  and  exterior  force,  the  various 
constituents  of  the  image — gold,  silver,  brass,  iron, 
the  clay — were  broken  in  pieces  and  carried  away 
like  chaff  by  the  wind,  while  the  stone  "  became  a 
great  mountain  and  filled  the  whole  earth."  We  are 
told  this  stone  typifies  a  kingdom  which  is  never  to 
pass  away. 

The  first  universal  monarchy,  represented  as  a 
head  of  gold,  was  at  the  height  of  earthly  glory  when 


46  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

its  great  king  beheld  this  vision.  It  was  succeeded 
by  the  empire  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  tinder  Cy- 
rus, the  chest  and  arms  of  sih^er.  Then  followed  the 
body  of  brass,  the  rule  of  the  Greeks  under  Alexan- 
der the  Great  and  his  successors. 

The  Roman  Empire,  afterwards  divided  into 
Eastern  and  Western,  is  symbolized  by  the  legs  of 
iron.  We  seem  now  to  be  living  in  the  times  of  the 
feet,  partly  iron  and  partly  clay. 

European  civilization  and  institutions  are  directly 
derived  from  the  Roman  Empire.  Europe  is  the 
child  of  Rome,  and  the  colonies  planted  by  her  in 
different  parts  of  the  globe,  notably  in  the  two  Amer- 
icas and  Australia,  bear  the  same  impress  on 
their  institutions  and  governments  of  the  spirit  of  the 
fourth  empire.  Of  all  the  continents  it  is  Europe 
which  at  present  dominates  the  earth,  and  whose  con- 
trolling influence  is  felt  to  its  remotest  border.  It  is 
Europe  which  intimidates  and  holds  in  check  Mus- 
lim, heathen,  and  savage  powers ;  she  and  her  daugh- 
ters are  wielding  to-day  the  forces  which  decide  the 
destiny  of  nations. 

But  she  is  no  longer  a  unit,  as  in  the  days  of  an- 
cient conquest;  the  division  and  weakness  of  her 
antagonistic  counsels  and  interests  are  only  too  evi- 
dent, and  seem  to  forbode  disaster  and  a  crisis  of 
some  kind.  Have  we  not  seen,  then,  that  for  these 
many  centuries  the  great  current  of  human  history 
has  taken  precisely  the  course  foretold  by  the  He- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  47 

brew  exile,  who  spoke  standing  at  the  very  fountain- 
head  whence  the  mighty  stream  arose  ? 

Who  then  knew  this  end  from  the  beginning? 
Who  revealed  it,  if  not  God  ? 


^Evidence  of  Rmned  Cities  and  Countries, 

To  turn  to  another  evidence  of  fulfilled  prophecy : 
We  have  read  of  Nineveh,  Babylon,  and  Tyre  as 
world-renowned  cities,  attaining  unexampled  splen- 
dor and  power.  While  they  were  still  enjoying  the 
greatest  prosperity,  no  signs  of  a  coming  doom  be- 
ine  visible,  their  utter  destruction  was  foretold  by 
Old  Testament  prophets.  This  has  been  so  thor- 
oughly accomplished  that  for  many  hundreds  of 
years  every  trace  of  the  sites  of  two  of  these  cities 
was  utterly  lost.  It  is  only  in  our  own  century  that 
the  ruins  of  Babylon,  near  Bagdad,  and  of  Nineveh, 
near  Mosul,  have  been  discovered  and  identified. 
The  spade  placed  by  the  Christian  explorer  in  the 
hands  of  the  Muslim  laborer  has  cleared  away  the 
dust  of  ages,  and  brought  to  light  countless  witnesses 
to  the  truth  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  Script- 
ures. This  great  body  of  evidence  discovered  in  our 
own  time  appeals  with  peculiar  force  to  this  genera- 
tion, as  the  dead  of  centuries  ago  speak  to  us  in  lan- 
guages which  long  since  ceased  to  breathe  from 
human  lips. 

I  onlv  mention  these  as  specimens  of  the  great  dis- 


48  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

coveries  which  have  been  made  in  Turkey  in  Asia, 
Egypt,  and  the  Holy  Land.  The  whole  chapter  of 
the  explorations  made,  the  decipherment  of  ancient 
records,  etc.,  is  a  remarkable  one  in  the  annals  of  the 
human  race.  May  we  not  say  that  since,  almost 
without  exception,  these  discoveries  are  made  in 
Muslim  territory,  God  is  in  a  special  way  calling  the 
attention  of  Islam  to  the  truth  of  His  own  Book; 
and  may  we  not  urge  it  upon  them  as  worthy  of 
their  most  serious  consideration  ? 

But  you  will  say  these  proofs  are  for  the  scholar, 
the  traveller,  the  learned  man;  they  are  not  ac- 
cessible to  all  men ;  and  if  they  were,  all  are  not  fitted 
to  understand  and  appreciate  them.  The  laborer 
who  brings  them  to  light  knows  nothing  of  their 
value,  and  we  can  hardly  imagine  him  grasping  the 
proofs  which  they  furnish,  or  weighing  the  testi- 
mony they  contain.  Let  us  have  something  suited  to 
his  comprehension.  Let  us  have  evidence  to  reach 
the  ignorant  multitudes  who  never  stir  beyond  the 
village  where  they  were  born,  and  who  are  guiltless 
of  the  knowledge  of  books. 

Witness  of  the  Jew. 

Very  well.  God  has  not  left  himself  without  a 
witness  suited  to  the  capacity  of  these,  the  great  ma- 
jority of  the  trace— a  witness  almost  ubiquitous,  fa- 


ISLAM     AND     CHRISTIANITY.  49 

miliar,  strongly  individualized,  to  be  understood  by 
the  dullest,  not  to  be  explained  away  by  the  most 
learned,  to  be  "  known  and  read  of  all  men." 

Who  does  not  recognize  the  Jew,  outcast  and  w^an- 
derer  from  his  own  land,  but  at  home  in  no  other? 
For  eighteen  hundred  years  he  has  found  no  rest 
under  heaven  for  the  sole  of  his  foot. 

The  Jews  were  once  brave  and  warlike,  but  now 
they  are  timid — unresisting  one  might  almost  say — 
hopeless,  at  least  as  we  see  them  here,  their  spirit 
broken  by  long  adversity  and  contempt.  They  have 
gone  through  such  terrible  persecutions  that  it 
seemed  they  must  lose  their  national  identity  and  be 
forced  to  amalgamate  with  other  races.  A  brief 
sunshine  of  prosperity  has  beamed  on  them  at  times, 
then  passed  away,  leaving  no  traces  of  permanent 
benefit.  The  storms  of  adversity  have  beaten  on 
them  while  their  adversaries  confidently  predicted 
their  utter  destruction,  but  they  have  emerged  from 
the  water  floods  with  the  same  marked  characteris- 
tics and  tenacity  of  life  as  of  old.  They  dwell  alone, 
and  "  are  not  reckoned  among  the  nations,"  unbe- 
loved  and  unprized  in  the  lands  where  they  sojourn, 
often  the  objects  of  jealousy  and  resentment.  In  the 
present  century  they  have,  perhaps,  experienced  more 
of  toleration  and  opportunity  than  ever  before,  but 
there  are  not  wanting  signs  now  in  the  countries  of 
Europe  of  a  tempest  gathering  to  break  on  their  de- 
voted heads.     It  is  told  as  a  saying  of  one  of  their 


50  'ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

Rabbis :  "  The  nations  have  persecuted,  but  they 
cannot  destroy  us,  for  there  is  a  blessing  on  our 
nation.  The  time  is  coming  when  they  will  desire  to 
bless  and  exalt  us,  but  shall  not  be  able,  for  there  is 
also  a  curse  upon  us."  What  a  mystery  their  history 
is  to  themselves  and  others !  But  the  Old  Testament 
predicted  all  this  long  before  in  its  minutest  details, 
and  the  New  Testament  reiterated  the  same  warn- 
ings. 

One  of  the  arguments  for  the  divine  origin  of  the 
Jewish  Scriptures  is  that  they  abound  in  the  most 
unflattering  portraitures  of  national  guilt  and  un- 
worthiness.  Certainly  nothing  but  a  firm  persuasion 
of  their  truth  could  induce  a  people  to  preserve  so 
carefully  records  so  humbling  to  race  pride,  reproofs 
so  withering,  and  threatenings  so  terrible. 

Destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

A  volume  might  be  devoted  to  show  the  fulfilment 
of  the  predictions  touching  the  Jews,  but  let  one  ex- 
ample suf^ce — the  second  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
At  the  time  of  our  Lord's  crucifixion  the  Jews  in- 
habited their  own  land,  and  there  appeared  no  proba- 
bility of  their  leaving  it.  Their  national  and  re- 
ligious life  centred  about  their  capital,  where  alone 
could  their  great  feasts  be  celebrated  and  the  essen- 
tial observances  of  their  religion  be  practised.  They 
were  specially  attached  to  their  temple,  a  structure 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  51 

of  great  beauty,  destined  in  popular  belief  to  endure 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  Jesus  prophesied  as  re- 
corded in  Luke  xxi.  5  :  ''  And  as  some  spake  of  the 
temple,  how  it  was  adorned  with  goodly  stones  and 
gifts,  he  said,  As  for  these  things  which  ye  behold, 
the  days  will  come,  in  the  which  there  shall  not  be 
left  one  stone  upon  another,  that  shall  not  be  thrown 
down." 

Luke  xxi.  20-24  •  "  And  when  ye  shall  see  Jeru- 
salem compassed  with  armies,  then  know  that  the 
desolation  thereof  is  nigh .  .  .  And  they  shall  fall  by 
the  sword  and  shall  be  led  away  captive  into  all  na- 
tions; and  Jerusalem  shall  be  trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiles  until  the  times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled." 

There  appeared  at  that  time  no  reason  to  expect 
the  total  destruction  of  the  Temple,  any  more  than 
of  the  Coliseum  at  Rome  or  the  Parthenon  at  Athens, 
which  remain  in  a  tolerably  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion at  the  present  day.  Buildings  more  ancient  still 
stand  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  but  forty  years 
after  Christ's  prophecy  was  uttered  Jerusalem  was 
taken  by  the  Romans,  many  of  the  wretched  inhab- 
itants were  put  to  death,  others  were  sold  into  slav- 
ery, and  the  Temple  was  utterly  demolished. 

''  Titus,  the  general  in  command  of  the  Roman 
army  which  destroyed  Jerusalem,  was  extremely 
anxious  to  save  the  Temple,  and  gave  strict  orders 
that  it  should  be  spared.  But  a  soldier  threw  a  blaz- 
ing brand  into  the  building,  and  all  efforts  to  extin- 


52 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 


guish  the  fire  were  in  vain.  Titus  would  at  the  last 
moment  have  checked  the  fury  of  his  troops,  but  the 
soldiers,  maddened  by  the  length  of  the  siege,  flung 
each  his  torch  into  the  midst  of  the  splendid  pile  and 
hurried  to  the  work  of  carnage.  The  magnificent 
Temple  was  consumed  by  flames  and  not  one  stone 
left  upon  another." 

Moreover,  Jesus  declared  that  the  Jews  should  re- 
main a  distinct  race  among  men  till  his  second  ad- 
vent. Speaking  of  that  event,  he  says  in  Mark  xiii. 
30:  "Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  this  generation  (or 
race)  shall  not  pass  away  till  all  these  things  be 
done." 

It  was  foretold  that  the  Jews,  if  disobedient  to 
God,  should  become  a  curse  among  the  nations. 

Jer.  xxix.  18:  ''Behold,  I  will  send  upon  them 
the  sword,  with  the  famine  and  with  the  pestilence, 
and  will  deliver  them  to  be  removed  to  all  the  king- 
doms of  the  earth,  and  an  astonishment,  and  a  hiss- 
ing, and  a  reproach  among  all  the  nations  whither 
I  have  driven  them."  Do  we  not  see  them  scattered 
among  the  nations,  and  do  we  not  hear  their  name 
used  as  a  byword  and  a  curse,  a  synonym  for  avarice 
and  deceit  ?  The  European  speaks  of  "  a  perfect 
Jew,"  ''  jewing  down  "  a  man  to  get  the  best  of  him 
in  a  bargain.  The  angry  Muslim  exclaims :  ''  Do 
you  take  me  for  a  Jew?  "  and  can  find  no  more  op- 
probrious epithet  than  Jew  with  which  to  revile  the 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY,  53 

object  of  his  wrath.    The  Jew  then  is  one  great  wit- 
ness to  the  truth  of  God's  word. 

The  Christian  Proof  of  Revelation. 

"  In  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  shall 
every  word  be  established." — 2  Cor.  xiii.  i. 

There  is  another  nation,  a  pecuhar  people,  not  like 
the  Jew,  of  one  blood,  but  called  out  and  gathered 
from  every  race  under  heaven.  "  These  are  they 
who  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he  goeth,"  the 
lovers  and  subjects  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  King 
of  the  Jews.  They  are  also  a  living  proof  of  the 
truth  of  the  word  that  he  who  was  rejected  by  his 
own  people  should  gather  the  heathen  to  his  obedi- 
ence, who  as  God's  people  should  be  called  by  a  new 
name. 

The  Calling  of  the  Gentiles. 

Addressing  Israel,  God  says  in  Isaiah  Ixv.  15: 
"  And  you  shall  leave  your  name  for  a  curse  unto  my 
chosen :  for  the  Lord  God  shall  slay  thee  and  call  his 
servants  by  another  name." 

In  Acts  xi.  26  we  read :  "  The  disciples  were 
called  Christians  first  in  Antioch." 

Although  the  first  followers  of  our  Lord  were 
from  his  own  people,  the  mass  of  the  nation  refused 
to  recognize  him  as  their  promised  Messiah,  and 
with  few  exceptions  continue  in  unbelief  to  this  day. 


54  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

On  the  other  hand,  being  preached  to  the  heathen, 
many  accepted  him  with  joy,  according  to  Isaiah 
xHx.  6,  y:  ''  And  he  said.  It  is  a  Hght  thing  that 
thou  shouldest  be  my  servant  to  raise  up  the  tribes 
of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel.  I 
will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that 
thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the 
earth.  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  Redeemer  of  Israel, 
and  his  Holy  One,  to  him  whom  man  despiseth,  to 
him  whom  the  nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of  rul- 
ers. Kings  shall  see  and  arise,  princes  also  shall 
worship,  because  of  the  Lord  that  is  faithful,  and  the 
Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  he  shall  choose  thee." 

Romans  xi.  25  :  ''  Blindness  in  part  is  happened  to 
Israel,  until  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come  in." 

Christ  says,  John  x.  16 :  "  And  other  sheep  I  have, 
which  are  not  of  this  fold ;  them  also  I  must  bring, 
and  they  shall  hear  my  voice,  and  there  shall  be  one 
fold  and  one  shepherd."  Again,  after  his  resurrec- 
tion, in  Matt,  xxviii.  18:  "And  Jesus  came  and 
spake  unto  them,  saying,  All  power  is  given  unto 
me  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Go  ye,  therefore,  and 
teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I 
have  commanded  you ;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

The  hand  which  traces  these  lines  is  that  of  a  de- 
scendant of  savage  tribes  in  Western  Europe.    When 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  55 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  spoke  these  words  they,  votaries 
of  false  gods,  were  offering  human  sacrifices  to  dev- 
ils. You  once  asked  the  derivation  of  the  English 
names  for  the  days  of  the  week,  and  I  told  you  they 
were  a  reminder  of  our  ancient  heathenism,  when 
our  fathers  on  the  first  day  worshipped  the  sun,  on 
the  second  the  moon,  and  each  day  was  dedicated  to 
a  particular  god.  The  children  of  those  idolaters 
have  long  borne  the  name  of  Christian,  and  though 
many  of  them  possess  only  the  name,  myriads  of 
others  are  true  and  loving  subjects  of  Jesus,  obeying 
his  commands,  imitating  his  life,  and  trusting  in 
him  alone  for  salvation.  Every  Jew,  then,  and  no 
less  every  Christian,  is  a  living  witness  to  the  truth 
of  the  holy  books. 

The  Quran  Compared  with  the  Bible. 

Having  now  hastily  glanced  at  some  of  the  proofs 
of  the  divine  character  of  the  Bible,  let  us  now  ex- 
amine the  claims  of  the  Quran  to  the  same  origin. 

Unlike  the  former  Scriptures,  it  comes  to  the 
world  from  the  mouth  and  in  the  lifetime  of  a  single 
individual,  necessarily  localized  and  provincial  in 
style  and  treatment.  To  begin  with,  in  a  case  in- 
volving merely  earthly  interests  we  should  count  this 
a  misfortune,  for  we  all  know  how  important  it  is 
in  establishing  a  point  to  have  evidence  from  more 
than  one  person.    In  Muslim  law,  as  you  are  aware, 


56  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

cases  occur  where  the  testimony  of  four  eye-wit- 
nesses is  required  to  settle  a  case.  If  but  one  witness 
is  obtainable  we  insist  that  his  story  shall  be  per- 
fectly consistent,  that  he  shall  not  contradict  him- 
self. 

Self -Contradictions  of  the  Quran. 

But  in  a  careful  examination  of  the  Suras,  which 
profess  to  come  from  the  only  true  God,  by  the  me- 
dium of  one  prophet,  contradictions  appear:  not 
only  about  matters  of  precept  and  doctrine,  for  which 
we  might  account  as  necessary  changes  in  God's 
modes  of  dealing  with  a  people  according  to  vary- 
ing circumstances,  but  these  discrepancies  regard 
facts  already  accomplished.  For  instance,  in  Sura 
III.,  Sur  al  Imran,  Family  of  Aaron,  v.  54 :  "  When 
God  said,  O  Jesus,  verily  I  will  cause  thee  to  die  and 
I  will  take  thee  up  unto  me  and  I  will  deliver  thee 
from  the  unbelievers,  and  I  will  place  those  who  fol- 
low thee  above  the  unbelievers,  until  the  day  of  res- 
urrection. Then  unto  me  shall  ye  return,  and  I  will 
judge  between  you  of  that  concerning  which  ye  dis- 
agree." 

But  in  Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  of  Women,  v. 
156,  speaking  of  the  Jews,  says :  "  They  have  said, 
Verily  we  have  slain  Christ  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary, 
the  apostle  of  God;  yet  they  slew  him  not,  neither 
crucified  him,  but  he  was  represented  by  one  in  his 
likeness;  and  verily  they  who  disagreed  concerning 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  57 

him  were  in  a  doubt  as  to  this  matter,  and  had  no 
sure  knowledge  thereof,  but  followed  only  an  un- 
certain opinion.  They  did  not  realty  kill  him,  but 
God  took  him  up  unto  himself." 

Now,  the  Quran  is  here  dealing  with  an  actual 
occurrence :  either  Jesus  died  or  he  did  not  die.  How 
can  both  these  passages  be  true?  The  Old  Testa- 
ment told  us  he  would  die  for  sinners,  and  the  New 
Testament  that  he  did  so  die,  but  what  are  we  to 
make  of  this  third  confused  witness  ?  It  appears  as 
if  it  were  not  only  the  Jews  who  "  were  in  a  doubt 
concerning  this  matter  and  had  no  certain  knowl- 
edge thereof." 

In  a  matter  of  precept  we  find  in  Sura  XVL,  Surat 
al  Nahl,  the  Bee,  v.  93 :  "  Perform  your  covenant 
with  God  when  ye  enter  into  covenant  with  him, 
and  violate  not  your  oaths,  after  the  ratification 
thereof,  since  ye  have  made  God  a  witness  over  you. 
Verily  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  do." 

Sura  LXVL,  Surat  al  Tahrim,  v.  2 :  ''  God  hath 
allowed  you  the  dissolution  of  your  oaths,  and  God 
is  your  master.    He  is  knowing  and  wise." 

In  Sura  II.,  Surat  ul  Baqr,  the  Cow,  v.  1 15,  touch- 
ing prayer :  ''To  God  belongeth  the  east  and  the 
west ;  therefore,  whithersoever  ye  turn  yourselves  to 
pray,  there  is  the  face  of  God ;  for  God  is  omnipresent 
and  omniscient." 

In  the  same  Sura,  v.  144  and  145  :  ''  We  appointed 
the  Qibla  toward  which  thou  didst  formerly  pray, 


58  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

only  that  we  might  know  him  who  followeth  the 
prophet  from  him  who  turneth  back  on  the  heels. 
We  have  seen  thee  turn  about  thy  face  toward 
heaven  with  uncertainty,  but  we  will  cause  thee  to 
turn  thyself  toward  a  Oibla  that  will  please  thee. 
Turn,  therefore,  thy  face  toward  the  holy  temple  of 
Makkah,  and  wherever  ye  be,  turn  your  faces  toward 
that  place." 

But,  you  will  answer,  the  latter  passages  abrogate 
the  former,  according  to  the  principle  delivered  in 
Sura  II.,  the  Cow:  ''  Whatever  verse  we  shall  ab- 
rogate, or  cause  thee  to  forget,  we  will  bring  thee 
a  better  than  it,  or  one  like  unto  it." 

Sura  XVI.,  Surat  al  Nahl,  the  Bee,  v.  103: 
*'  When  we  substitute  in  the  Quran  an  abrogating 
verse  in  lieu  of  a  verse  abrogated  (God  best  know- 
eth  the  fitness  of  that  which  he  revealeth)  the  infidels 
say.  Thou  art  only  a  forger  of  these  verses.  But 
the  greater  part  of  them  know  not  truth  from  false- 
hood." 

Authorities  differ  as  to  the  number  of  verses  abro- 
gated. They  have  been  estimated  as  from  five  to 
five  hundred.  ''  The  fragmentary  way  in  which  the 
Quran  was  given  was  not  without  its  difficulties. 
Some  passages  contradicted  others ;  some  were  diffi- 
cult to  understand.  To  the  Prophet  alone  was  the 
solution  known.  The  knowledge  he  communicated 
to  his  immediate  followers,  the  Companions,  as  they 
are  called,  thus :    ''  To  thee  have  we  sent  down  this 


ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  59 

book  of  monitions,  that  thou  mayest  make  clear  to 
men  what  hath  been  sent  down  to  them." 

The  Prophet  Alone  Could  Explain  the  Revelation. 

Sura  XVL,  Surat  al  Nahl,  the  Bee,  v.  46,  Ibn 
Khaldun  says :  ''  The  Prophet  unfolded  the  mean- 
ing, distinguished  between  abrogated  and  abrogat- 
ing verses,  and  communicated  this  knowledge  to  his 
companions.  It  was  from  his  mouth  that  they  knew 
the  meaning  of  the  verses  and  the  circumstances  that 
led  to  each  distinct  revelation  being  made."  There 
are  many  traditions  which  refer  to  this  fact,  and  to 
innovations  introduced  by  special  revelation.* 

God  Unchanging. 

The  great  difficulty  presented  by  this  doctrine  of 
abrogation  is  that  it  seems  to  conflict  with  the  char- 
acter of  God  as  previously  revealed.  In  James  i.  17 
he  is  described  as  the  "  Father  of  lights,  with  whom 
is  no  variableness,  neither  shadow  of  turning." 

Psalms  Ixxxix.  34 :  ''  My  covenant  will  I  not 
break,  nor  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  my 
lips." 

Malachi  iii.  6 :    "  I  am  the  Lord,  I  change  not." 

Numbers  xxiii.  i^     "  God  is  not  a  man,  that  he 
should  lie;  neither  the  son  of  man,  that  he  should 
repent ;  hath  he  said  and  shall  he  not  do  it  ?  or  hath 
he  spoken  and  shall  he  not  make  it  good?" 
*See  note  on  page  215. 


6o  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY." 

Rom.  xi.  29 :  "  The  gifts  and  calling  of  God 
are  without  repentance." 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  this  new  principle, 
foreign  to  the  former  Scriptures,  is  introduced  in 
the  Quran,  which  if  intended  to  supplant  them 
should  present,  if  not  the  same  character,  a  superior 
one  in  every  respect.  But  this  principle  is  adapted 
to  throw  doubt  on  the  genuineness  of  its  inspiration, 
as  is  also  the  circumstance  that  no  one  but  the 
Prophet  was  able  to  explain  the  apparent  contradic- 
tions. The  citation  from  Sura  XVI.  shows  it  was  a 
great  stumbling-block  in  the  way  of  the  unbelievers, 
who  were  unable  to  accept  the  Quran  as  the  word  of 
an  omniscient  God,  and  resorted  to  a  very  different 
hypothesis  of  its  authorship. 

Abrogation  Charged  Against  the  Bible. 

1  have  heard  Muslims  make  the  charge  that  this 
principle  does  exist  in  the  Bible,  and  they  illustrate 
it  by  the  passing  away  of  the  ceremonial  law  of 
Moses,  with  regard  to  forbidden  food,  circumcision, 
etc.  To  meet  this  charge  it  is  necessary  to  remem- 
ber that  the  ceremonial  law  did  not  express  the  es- 
sentials of  religion,  which  are  unchangeable,  but 
rather  its  outward  garb,  as  distinguished  from  its 
true  life.  It  is  never  spoken  of  as  a  permanent  rule, 
and  its  provisions  were  planned  for  and  confined  to 
the  Jewish  people.    One  of  its  objects  was  to  educate 


ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  6 1 

them  by  the  use  of  types  and  shadows  to  the  percep- 
tion of  spiritual  reahties;  another  was  to  preserve 
their  separate  identity  as  a  race  in  training  for  a 
special  religious  mission.  The  ceremonial  law  was 
a  means,  not  an  end,  like  the  scaffolding  used  in  the 
decoration  of  a  building,  useful  and  necessary  for 
a  time;  when  its  purpose  is  served  it  becomes  a  super- 
fluity and  incumbrance.  It  is  nowhere  presented  as 
a  means  of  salvation,  as  we  are  plainly  taught  from 
the  beginning  of  the  Scriptures  that  salvation  is  of 
grace  by  faith,  and  not  a  payment  made  by  God  in 
virtue  of  any  works  or  religious  observances  of  man. 
Intimations  of  the  transitory  nature  of  this  law  are 
not  wanting  in  the  Old  Testament;  but  in  the  New 
Testament  we  learn  fully  the  reasons  for  its  being 
no  longer  binding  on  men.  We  must  speak  of  this 
subject  later  on,  but  will  only  say  now  that  any  difB- 
culty  it  presents  to  the  candid  mind  disappears  be- 
fore a  thorough  study  of  the  great  underlying  princi- 
ples of  God's  dealings  with  men. 

Discrepancies  Between  the  Quran  and  the  Bible. 

It  remains  now  to  compare  the  Quran  with  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments.  We  find  ourselves  at  once  en- 
tangled in  a  maze  of  contradictions  and  discrepancies 
in  history,  chronology,  doctrine,  precept,  terms  of 
salvation,  the  character  of  God,  and  the  character  of 
man,  so  that  we  no  longer  wonder  that  the  theory 


62  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

has  been  brought  forward  of  the  corruption  of  the 
original  books.  But  as  already  shown,  that  supposi- 
tion is  groundless,  and  the  differences  which  exist 
are  in  the  whole  spirit  and  structure,  shutting  us  up 
to  the  conclusion  that  both  cannot  be  true.  The 
strangest  part  is,  that  Muhammad  does  not  seem  to 
have  had  a  suspicion  of  these  inconsistencies. 
''  There  is  no  evidence  that  Muhammad  had  any 
practical  acquaintance  with  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  There  is  only  one  quotation  in  the 
Quran  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  that  is  a  passage 
from  Ps.  xxxviii.  29,  which  is  quoted  in  Sura  XXL 
V.  105.  Since  the  Law  was  given,  we  have  writ- 
ten in  the  Psalms  that  '  my  servants,  the  righteous, 
shall  inherit  the  earth.'  "  There  are  a  few  apparent 
references  to  the  N'ew  Testament.  The  poetical  por- 
tions are  the  Prophet's  own  creation ;  for  the  rest  he 
was  indebted  to  the  Jewish  traditions  based  on  the 
Talmud.  The  Babylonian  Gemara  was  finished 
about  the  year  530  a.d.,  the  Jerusalem  Gemara  in  430 
A.D.,  and  the  Mishna  about  220  a.d.  All  of  these, 
therefore,  were  available.  Other  portions  of  the  Qu- 
ran are  derived  from  stories  found  in  the  Apoc- 
ryphal Gospels,  Christian  legends,  and  Zoroastrian 
tales."*  If  we  adopt  this  account  of  the  origin  of 
the  Quran,  which  can  be  verified  by  consulting  the 
sources  above  mentioned,  Muhammad's  ignorance 
of  a  conflict  between  the  Quran  and  the  Bible  is  in- 
^ Faith  of  Islam,  second  edition,  pp.  13  and  14. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  63 

telligible;  but  where,  then,  is  the  eternity  and  verbal 
inspiration  of  his  revelation? 

The  former  Scriptures  stand  on  their  own  merits, 
promising  and  needing  no  successor.  If  they  are 
false,  the  Quran  falls  with  them,  as  professedly  based 
upon  them ;  if  they  are  true,  it  falls,  as  being  incon- 
sistent with  them.  There  seems  no  escape  from  this 
dilemma. 

Inconsistencies  SpeciHed. 

But  to  specify  some  of  the  alleged  inconsistencies. 

In  the  last  chapter  of  the  New  Testament,  in  Rev. 
xxii.  18,  19,  we  read:  ''For  I  testify  unto  every 
man  that  heareth  the  words  of  the  prophecy  of  this 
book.  If  any  man  shall  add  unto  these  things,  God 
shall  add  unto  him  the  plagues  that  are  written  in 
this  book.  And  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the 
words  of  the  book  of  this  prophecy,  God  shall  take 
away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of  life,  and  out  of  the 
holy  city,  and  from  the  things  which  are  written  in 
this  book."  The  Christian  Church  has  for  eighteen 
centuries  accepted  this  passage  as  closing  the  Word 
of  God  revealed  to  man.  The  Quran,  written  more 
than  five  hundred  years  after,  and  professing  to 
come  from  the  same  unchanging  God,  both  adds  to 
and  takes  from  the  former  Word,  as  it  is  indeed 
obliged  to  do,  if  it  has  any  reason  for  being  at  all. 

Not  to  speak  of  the  historical  differences  which 
are  patent  to  every  reader,  as  the  substitution  of  Ish- 


64  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

mael  for  Isaac  in  Abraham's  sacrifice,  let  us  examine 
the  contradictions  in  doctrine. 

Isaiah  ix.  6,  y,  speaking  of  the  advent  of  Mes- 
siah, says  to  the  Jewish  nation :  "  For  unto  us  a 
Child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given ;  and  the  gov- 
ernment shall  be  upon  his  shoulder;  and  his  name 
shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  the  mighty 
God,  the  everlasting  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
Of  the  increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there 
shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,  and  upon 
his  kingdom,  to  order  it  and  to  establish  it  with 
judgment  and  justice  from  henceforth  even  for 
ever." 

Micah  V.  2,  prophesying  of  the  birthplace  of  the 
Messiah,  says :  "  But  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephratah, 
though  thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of  Judah, 
yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  unto  me  that  is 
to  be  ruler  in  Israel;  whose  goings  forth  have  been 
from  old,  even  from  everlasting." 

Psalms  ii.  6,  y :  "  Yet  hav  .■  I  set  my  King  upon 
my  holy  hill  of  Zion.  I  will  declare  the  decree ;  the 
Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  my  Son ;  this  day 
have  I  begotten  thee." 

Psalms  ex.  i :  ''The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord, 
Sit  thou  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine 
enemies  thy  footstool."  These  four  quotations  are 
from  the  Old  Testament;  let  us  add  four  from  the 
New  Testament. 

Mark  xiv.  61,  62  :    "  Again  the  high  priest  asked 


ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY,  65 

him  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  Blessed  ?  And  Jesus  said,  I  am ;  and  ye  shall 
see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of 
power  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven/' 

John  i.  14 :  ''  And  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and 
dwelt  among  us,  and  we  beheld  his  glory  as  of  the 
only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth. "^ 

Phil.  ii.  6-1 1 :  "Who,  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God:  but  made  himself  of  no  reputation,  and  took 
upon  him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  was  made  in  the 
likeness  of  man.  And  being  found  in  fashion  as  a 
man,  he  humbled  himself  and  became  obedient  unto 
death,  even  the  death  of  the  cross.  Wherefore  God 
also  hath  highly  exalted  him,  and  given  him  a 
name  which  is  above  every  name;  that  at  the  name 
of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven 
and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ;  and 
that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father." 

I  Timothy  iii.  16:  ''And  without  controversy 
great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness :  God  was  manifest 
in  the  flesh,  justified  in  the  Spirit,  seen  of  angels, 
preached  unto  the  Gentiles,  believed  on  in  the  world, 
received  up  into  glory." 

Quran  Denies  the  Divinity  of  Christ, 

The  Scriptures  thus  plainly  teach  the  divinity  of 
Christ,  but  we  read  in  the  Ouran  as  follows : 


^e  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Sura  v.,  Surat  ul  Maida,  the  Table,  v.  19 :  "  They 
are  infidels  who  say,  Verily  God  is  Christ,  the  Son 
of  Mary.  Say  unto  them,  And  who  could  obtain 
anything  from  God  to  the  contrary,  if  he  pleased  to 
destroy  Christ,  the  Son  of  Mary,  and  his  mother,  and 
all  those  who  are  on  the  earth  ?  "  The  same  Sura, 
V.  y6,  yy,  79 :  "  They  are  surely  infidels  who  say, 
Verily  God  is  Christ,  the  Son  of  Mary ;  since  Christ 
said,  O  children  of  Israel,  serve  God,  my  Lord  and 
your  Lord.  Whoever  shall  give  a  companion  unto 
God,  God  shall  exclude  him  from  Paradise,  and  his 
portion  shall  be  hell  fire,  and  the  ungodly  shall  have 
none  to  help  them.  They  are  certainly  infidels  who 
say  God  is  the  third  of  three,  for  there  is  no  God  be- 
sides one  God,  and  if  they  refrain  not  from  what 
they  say,  a  painful  torment  shall  surely  be  inflicted 
on  such  of  them  as  are  unbelievers.  Christ,  the  Son 
of  Mary,  is  no  more  than  an  apostle.  Other  apos- 
tles have  preceded  him ;  and  his  mother  was  a  woman 
of  veracity ;  they  both  ate  food." 

Similar  passages  abound  in  the  Quran  fiercely  de- 
nouncing the  crime  of  giving  God  a  companion. 

Surpassing  Honors  Paid  to  Muhammad. 

But  it  is  difficult  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  Mus- 
lims render  themselves  liable  to  be  charged  with  the 
sin  of  regarding  mortal  men  with  the  reverence  due 
to  God  alone.     In  a  recent  official  account  of  a  re- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  6/ 

ligious  ceremony  at  Constantinople,  Muhammad  is 
entitled  "  The  Cause  of  the  Creation  of  the  Universe, 
the  Prince  of  the  Righteous  and  of  Princes,  the  Pride 
of  all  things  Existent,  the  Best  Beloved  of  the  Eter- 
nal God,  the  Messenger  of  the  Creator  of  Earth  and 
Heaven,  the  Guide  in  Sorrow  and  in  Joy,  the  Inter- 
cessor of  the  Day  of  Judgment,  Our  Lord  His  High- 
ness, the  Most  Perfect  and  Choice  Prophet."  No 
such  titles  are  used  in  the  whole  Bible  of  any  mere 
man.  No  creature  is  ever  allowed  to  receive  the 
glory  belonging  to  the  Creator  alone. 

The  above-quoted  document  is  a  deliverance  of  the 
Sunnis ;  but  the  Shiahs  are,  if  possible,  more  extrava- 
gant in  their  eulogies.  The  Hyat  ul  Kuloob  (trans- 
lation of  Rev.  J.  A.  Merrick)  says :  ''  God  formed 
the  table  on  which  are  registered  the  immutable  de- 
crees, and  from  the  light  of  the  table  he  formed  the 
sacred  pen  and  addressed  it,  saying,  Write  my  Unity. 
The  pen  lay  confounded  a  thousand  years  by 
hearing  the  divine  command,  and  when  it  re- 
turned to  reason,  said,  Lord,  what  shall  I  write? 
The  Most  High  rejoined.  Write,  there  is  no  God  but 
God ;  Muhammad  is  the  Apostle  of  God.  When  the 
pen  heard  the  name  of  Muhammad,  it  prostrated  it- 
self in  adoration,  and  said,  Glory  to  the  Unity, 
the  Omnipotent!  Glory  to  the  great,  the  most 
mighty !  It  then  arose  and  wrote  the  creed,  and  in- 
quired. Lord,  who  is  Muhammad,  that  thou  hast 
mentioned  his  name  in  conjunction  with  thine  own? 


68  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

The  Most  High  answered,  O  pen,  if  he  had  not  ex- 
isted, I  had  not  formed  thee.  I  have  made  all  my 
creatures  on  his  account.  He  imparts  hope  and  in- 
spires fear,  holds  the  lamp  of  light  and  makes  inter- 
cession, and  he  is  my  friend.  From  the  light  of 
Muhammad  the  Most  High  created  Paradise  and 
adorned  it  with  four  great  qualities  or  attributes, 
namely,  majesty,  glory,  liberality,  and  integrity,  and 
declared  it  the  destined  abode  of  his  friends  and  those 
who  obey  him." 

The  charge,  indeed,  is  sometimes  made  that 
though  Muslims  reject  the  Triune  God  of  Christian- 
ity in  at  least  one  great  division,  they  have  practically 
adopted  a  plurality  of  their  own  by  associating  with 
the  Most  High  their  Prophet,  his  daughter  Fatima, 
her  husband  AH,  and  their  sons  Hassan  and  Hous- 
sain. 

Aside  from  tradition,  the  manner  in  which  the 
Quran  always  speaks  of  Muhammad  deserves  atten- 
tion, as  it  represents  him  not  only  as  the  sole  me- 
dium of  communication  from  God  to  the  believer,  but 
as  the  vicegerent  of  the  Almighty,  to  be  obeyed  as 
the  Lord  himself.  He  is  granted  complete  control, 
in  the  minutest  particulars,  over  the  conscience  and 
life  of  every  follower.  Nay,  all  men  are  commanded 
to  obey  him.  No  other  prophet  makes  such  claims 
but  Jesus  Christ,  who  declares  himself  to  be  Divine, 
while  Muhammad  always  speaks  of  himself  as  only 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  69 

a  human  being,  and  does  not  even  profess  to  be 
sinless. 

This  appears  from  the  following  passages :  Sura 
XL.,  Surat  al  Mumin,  The  True  Believer,  v.  57: 
"  Be  thou  steadfast  and  patient,  for  true  is  the  prom- 
ise of  God ;  and  seek  pardon  for  thy  sin." 

Sura  XLVII.,  Surat  Muhammad,  v.  21:  "Ask 
pardon  for  thy  sin,  and  for  believers,  both  men  and 
women." 

Sura  XLVIIL,  Surat  al  Fatah,  Victory,  v.  i, 
2 ;  "  Verily,  we  have  won  for  thee  an  undoubted 
victory,  in  token  that  God  forgiveth  thine  earlier  and 
thy  later  fault." 

Nevertheless,  he  associates  himself  as  a  companion 
with  God  in  many  passages,  of  which  two  may  serve 
as  specimens. 

Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  Women,  v.  79 :  "Who- 
ever obeyeth  the  Apostle,  obeyeth  God." 

Sura  v.,  Surat  ul  Maida,  the  Table,  v.  93 :  "Obey 
God  and  obey  the  Apostle,  and  take  heed  to  your- 
selves :  but  if  ye  turn  back,  know  that  the  duty  of 
our  Apostle  is  only  to  preach  publicly." 

Misunderstanding  of  the  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 

All  through  the  Quran  we  find  a  complete  misap- 
prehension of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  as  taught 
in  the  Scriptures  and  received  by  Christians.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  not  recognized,  but  Mary  seems  to  be 


70  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

regarded  as  associated  with  Christ,  as  worthy  of  di- 
vine honors.  The  corrupted  churches  of  the 
East,  always  excepting  the  Nestorians,  had  indeed 
so  fallen  into  Mariolatry,  honoring  the  mother  of 
our  Lord's  humanity  as  all  but  God,  that  one  judg- 
ing only  from  what  he  saw  in  Christian  places  of 
worship  might  be  pardoned  the  misconception.  But 
a  man  familiar  with  the  Bible  could  never  make  this 
mistake. 

Mariolatry. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  things  in  the  New 
Testament  is  the  studied  way  in  which  Mary  is  kept 
in  the  background,  or,  if  she  appear  after  our  Lord 
begins  his  public  ministry,  any  mention  of  her  is 
almost  invariably  attended  by  disparagement  of  the 
ascription  of  peculiar  eminence  to  her,  or  disallow- 
ance of  any  attempt  on  her  part  to  control  her  Son's 
actions.  Even  the  farewell  at  the  cross,  so  tender, 
so  affecting,  seems  to  indicate  the  severance  of  the 
earthly  relation,  as  only  temporary  and  then  reach- 
ing the  termination.  It  seems  as  if  the  all-wise  God, 
foreseeing  the  special  danger  from  temptation  to  this 
sin,  carefully  refrained  from  giving  it  the  slightest 
encouragement  in  his  Word. 

True  Doctrine  of  the  Trinity. 

I  beg  your  patient  attention  for  a  few  moments 
to  the  true  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Trinity.    Why  is  it 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  yi 

SO  difficult  for  Muslims  to  accept  the  idea  of  one 
God  in  three  persons,  a  perfect  unity  in  respect  of 
nature,  aim,  will,  and  action?  Perhaps  our  sinful 
and  disordered  natures  make  it  almost  impossible 
for  us  to  conceive  of  personality  without  isolation- 
self-assertion,  inequality,  and  antagonism.  We  have 
never  yet  beheld  a  perfect  union  of  even  two  persons, 
nor  can  we  expect  it  in  our  present  state,  where  our 
mutual  knowledge  is  so  imperfect,  our  love  so  feeble, 
and  our  characters  so  discordant  that  we  repel  as 
much  as  we  attract  each  other.  But  shall  we,  with 
our  weak  intellect,  our  warped  character,  and  incom- 
plete information  of  the  mysteries  of  an  unexplored 
universe,  decide  such  unity  to  be  impossible? 

Are  we  prepared  to  pronounce  final  judgment  on 
the  nature  of  God,  and  to  conclude  because  even  in 
the  narrow  limits  of  one  personality  we  find  perfect 
harmony  unattainable,  therefore,  there  can  be  no  Tri- 
unity  in  the  Supreme  Being?  We  forget  that  our 
world  is  in  an  abnormal,  if  we  may  so  say,  an  un- 
natural, state,  therefore  not  to  be  taken  as  a  standard 
for  the  universe,  any  more  than  a  sick  man  can  fur- 
nish rules  for  a  well  one.  It  behooves  us  to  be  very 
careful  in  coming  to  an  arbitrary  conclusion  on  this 
matter.  Yet  we  constantly  hear  Muslims  positively 
assert  that  they  know  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  to 
be  false  and  untenable.  These  men  we  see  to  be  igno- 
rant of  the  visible  mysteries  which  surround  them, 
which  their  own  minds  and  bodies  present,  which  are 


72  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

found  in  the  physical  universe,  profoundly  unsus- 
picious of  the  wonders  of  science,  the  records  of  his- 
tory, or  the  triumphs  of  modern  discovery  and  inven- 
tion. They  do  not,  however,  hesitate  for  a  moment 
to  judge  confidently  of  invisible  mysteries,  and  tell 
us  we  blaspheme  in  calling  Jesus  Christ  divine. 
When  we  ask  for  proofs  and  arguments,  we  meet 
only  with  reiterated  assertions,  if  we  are  so  happy  as 
to  escape  reviling  and  violence. 

Arguments  for  the  Trinity, 

Yet  even  in  this  visible  frame  of  nature  phenom- 
ena are  not  lacking  which  seem  to  make  against 
them,  and  to  indicate  the  possibility,  even  the  prob- 
ability, of  the  truth  of  the  Trinity.  We  need  not 
cross  the  seas  to  find  such  witness,  or  search  the 
depths  to  produce  it ;  it  is  around  and  within  us,  writ- 
ten on  our  natures.  Is  not  the  purest,  divinest 
instinct  of  the  human  heart  that  which  yearns  to  love 
and  be  loved  by  an  equal,  a  companion,  a  friend  with 
whom  we  can  exchange  thought  and  share  experi- 
ence? Who  is  satisfied  with  the  distant  isolation 
of  a  master  always  commanding  his  subordinates? 
Who  can  lavish  the  profoundest  possibilities  of  af- 
fection upon  those  who  must  ever  be  immeasurably 
his  inferiors?  Who  desires  to  live  self-centred,  ab- 
sorbed in  the  contemplation  of  his  own  perfection 
and  glory?    If  such  be  the  mode  of  existence  of  the 


ISLAM    "AND    CHRISTIANITY.  73 

Most  High,  it  would  seem  inferior  to  that  vouch- 
safed to  even  his  sinful  creatures  to  enjoy. 

Does  it  not  look  as  if  the  highest  conception  of 
God  demands  something  like  this  doctrine,  and  do 
not  the  traditions  unconsciously  testify  to  it  when 
they  represent  Muhammad  with  Ali  and  part  of  his 
family  as  companions  of  God  in  eternity  before  the 
creation  of  the  universe? 

If  we  observe  a  rock,  we  have  a  specimen  of  bare 
unity,  homogeneous,  at  rest,  but  devoid  of  that  mys- 
terious something  we  call  life.     Mounting  higher, 
we  reach  the  animal,  which,  like  the  stone,  has  a 
body,  formed  of  the  same  earth,  but  unlike  it,  pos- 
sessing conscious  volition.    This  we  may  be  permit- 
ted to  call  duality,  as  the  animal  has  not  only  form, 
substance,  and  dimensions,  like  the  stone,  but  also 
mind  and  personality,  revealed  in  will,  emotions,  and 
judgment.     It  knows  within  certain  limits  how  to 
order  its  life  successfully,  to  find  shelter  and  food 
for  itself  and  its  young,  even  to  live  in  communities 
displaying   a   disciplined   obedience   to   law   and   a 
devotion   to   the   general   interest   which   man   has 
hardly  yet  attained.    In  spite  of  all  this,  we  have  no 
doubt  that  ours  is  the  superior  nature.     We  scruple 
not  to  treat  the  animals  as  our  property,  to  be  used 
for  our  own  pleasure  and  advantage.    We  recognize 
the  fact  that  something  is  wanting  in  them ;  there  is 
a    lack,    making    them    distinctly    our    inferiors. 
What    is    it    that   they    have   not    and   we   have? 


74  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Is  it  not  a  third  element,  added  to  the  body 
and  mind  which  they  possess,  constituting  man  him- 
self a  trinity?  Do  we  not  recognize  the  presence  of 
a  third  element,  expressing  itself  in  what  is  known 
as  the  religious  instinct,  the  capacity  for  wor- 
shipping and  communing  with  a  Supreme  Be- 
ing, of  understanding  and  obeying  his  precepts  ?  It 
has  been  said  that  no  race  had  yet  been  discovered, 
however  degraded,  which  proved  to  be  destitute  of 
this  capacity. 

Of  all  known  animals  the  elephant  is,  perhaps,  the 
most  sagacious;  but  if  you  try  to  communicate  to 
him  the  knowledge  of  God,  which  a  little  child  will 
receive  in  an  hour,  you  find  him  absolutely  imper- 
vious and  irresponsive.  It  is  not  because  he  lacks 
mind;  he  learns  much  within  a  certain  range;  you 
can  work  on  his  emotions,  and  command  his  obedi- 
ence; he  understands  you  as  far  as  he  is  able,  but 
he  cannot  go  beyond  a  certain  point ;  he  has  no  spirit 
to  complete  a  trinity  with  his  duality  of  body  and 
mind. 

Look  again  at  the  white  light  streaming  from  the 
sun,  decomposed  by  the  prism  into  red,  yellow,  and 
blue  rays,  which  pass  by  insensible  gradations  from 
one  to  the  other,  and  which  scientists  tell  us  are  due 
to  the  action  of  force  vibrating  with  various  de- 
grees of  rapidity.  To  the  same  cause  we  owe 
the  threefold  effect  of  the  sun,  reaching  us  in  heat, 
light,  and  vivifying  power.     Surely,  if  nature  fur- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  75 

nishes  any  emblem  of  unity  it  is  found  in  the  great 
orb  of  day.  Yet  in  its  manifestation  of  being  it  pre- 
sents us  with  One  in  Three  and  Three  in  One.  Does 
not  water  itself  tell  the  same  story,  and,  indeed,  all 
matter  in  its  three  possible  states,  solid,  liquid,  and 
gaseous  ?  The  charcoal  of  our  furnaces,  the  graphite 
of  our  lead  pencils,  the  brilliant  diamond,  are  but 
three  forms  of  one  and  the  same  element,  carbon. 
Instances  might  be  multiplied.  But  we  dare  not  rely 
on  nature  alone  or  on  our  own  conclusions  from  her 
wonders,  though  we  may  use  them  to  corroborate 
and  illustrate  what  we  learn  from  the  only  infallible 
guide,  the  Word  of  God. 

We  find  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  in  the  Old 
Testament  like  a  treasure  hid  in  a  field,  unseen  of 
the  careless  eye,  but  unmistakably  there  for  him  who 
will  search ;  but  in  the  New  Testament  it  is  no  longer 
concealed,  but  shines  forth  with  dazzling  lustre. 

God  Speaks  in  the  Quran  as  ''  We/' 

Even  in  the  Quran,  God  is  always  represented  by 
the  pronoun  We,  which  almost  never  occurs  in  the 
former  waitings,  and  then  with  the  utmost  circum- 
spection, lest  its  use  conduce  to  the  impression  of  a 
plurality  of  Gods  and  lead  to  polytheism.  The  book 
which  teaches  the  Trinity  is  the  strongest  safeguard 
of  the  Unity;  that  which  asserts  the  Unity  most 
vehemently  is  the  one  which  continually  leaves  a 


76  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

grammatical  loophole  where  it  might  creep  in.  It  is 
said  this  is  merely  a  grammatical  and  rhetorical 
point ;  but  why  should  the  God  who  had  said  "  I " 
for  thousands  of  years  begin  to  say  "  We,"  unless, 
we  are  to  understand  that  the  pronoun  stands  for 
Himself  and  the  Prophet? 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  the  great  stumbling 
block  in  the  way  of  Muslims,  but  their  difficulty 
seems  to  lie  in  an  inability  to  conceive  of  it  as  a  spir- 
itual doctrine,  to  be  spiritually  discerned.  Adopt- 
ing a  low  and  material  view,  prejudging  the  case, 
so  that  they  often  refuse  to  listen  to  any  evidence  in 
its  favor,  they  lose  the  comfort  and  satisfaction  it 
offers  to  both  mind  and  heart. 

It  acquaints  us  with  an  infinitely  holy  and  great 
God,  who,  calling  himself  the  Father,  has  been 
pleased  to  reveal  to  us  his  nature  and  will  in  one 
who  is  truly  God  and  truly  man.  He  became  man, 
that  through  him  we  might  be  put  into  communi- 
cation with  the  invisible  Father  and  might  learn  to 
know  him,  and  knowing,  be  partakers  of  eternal  life. 
He  is  constituted  by  the  Most  High  our  God 
and  brother,  our  sinless  substitute  and  spotless  sac- 
rifice, our  perfect  example,  our  competent  inter- 
cessor, guide,  and  ruler.  The  Holy  Spirit,  the  third 
person  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  the  imparter  of  spirit- 
ual life,  taking  possession  of  our  hearts,  cleansing 
and  renewing  them,  unites  us  in  the  tenderest  and 
most  indissoluble  bonds  of  love  to  the  God  who  has 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  77 

SO  wonderfully  provided  for  the  forgiveness  of  our 
sins  and  restoration  to  his  favor.  In  this  doctrine 
every  human  need  is  met,  and  all  the  requirements 
of  divine  justice  satisfied.  I  have  spoken  at  length 
on  this  subject,  because  it  is  generally  the  first  one 
mentioned  by  Muslims  when  entering  upon  a 
religious  conversation.  Their  difficulties  are  real, 
and  we  owe  it  to  them  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  any 
light  we  have  ourselves  received.* 

Position  of  Woman. 

Another  great  innovation  made  by  the  Quran  oc- 
curs in  the  position  allotted  to  woman,  and  the 
changes  in  the  laws  regulating  marriage  and  divorce. 
The  Quran  itself  describes  the  Almighty  as  consist- 
ent in  his  laws  and  methods. 

Sura  XVIL,  Surat  al  Bani  Israil,  Children  of  Is- 
rael, V.  79 :  '*  This  is  the  mode  of  dealing  in  re- 
spect to  our  apostles,  whom  we  have  already  sent  be- 
fore thee,  and  thou  shalt  not  find  any  change  in  our 
prescribed  method."  When  man  was  created  we  find 
him  provided  with  one  wife  as  companion  and 
helpmeet.  Many  years  after  the  fall  of  Adam  polyg- 
amy made  its  appearance  among  his  posterity,  not 
in  the  family  of  Seth,  who  was  in  the  line  of  obedi- 
ence and  covenant  relation  with  God,  but  in  that 
of  Cain,  who  after  murdering  his  brother  Abel,  had 
*See  Dr.  Noble's  article  on  page  216. 


78  ISLAM    ^AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

separated  from  his  relatives,  leaving  ''  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  "  and  building  himself  a  remote  city, 
where  he  might  be  free  from  pious  restraint.  It  was 
his  descendant  Lamech,  apparently  a  bloody  and  law- 
less man,  who  is  noted  as  having  married  two  wives. 

When  Noah  was  preserved  from  the  deluge,  he, 
like  each  of  his  three  sons,  was  accompanied  by  one 
wife,  as  we  are  expressly  told.  Eight  souls  were 
saved.  It  appears,  then,  that  monogamy  is  God's 
original  law  for  the  race.  We  read,  it  is  true,  of 
patriarchs  and  Jewish  kings  practising  polygamy  in 
imitation  of  the  nations  round  about,  but  we  never 
hear  of  it  as  commanded  by  the  Lord,  or  receiving 
his  blessing  and  approval.  It  seems  to  have  been 
invariably  followed  by  disastrous  results  in  family 
life,  and  was  a  fruitful  cause  of  the  idolatry  into 
which  the  Israelites  frequently  fell.  It  appears,  in 
fact,  to  be  more  in  consonance  with  the  faiths  which 
permitted  and  sanctified  orgies  of  unbridled  excess 
in  connection  with  their  religious  rites  than  with 
the  purity  and  self-control  enjoined  by  the  commands 
of  a  holy  God.  Let  us  hear  what  the  Bible  says  on 
this  point. 

I  Corinthians  vii.  2 :  "  Let  every  man  have  his 
own  wife,  and  every  woman  her  own  husband,"  not 
every  man  his  own  wives,  and  every  woman  a  share 
in  the  husband  of  several  otherwomen.  Especially  of 
those  who  lead  and  instruct  the  people  in  religion, 
and  who  are  to  set  an  example  of  holy  living,  it  is 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  79 

written  (i  Tim.  iii.  2-12)  of  bishops  and  dea- 
cons that  each  must  be  the  husband  of  but  one  wife, 
forbidding  polygamy  and  divorce.  It  is  written  in 
Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  of  Women,  v.  3 :  ''  And 
if  ye  fear  that  ye  shall  not  act  with  equity  toward 
orphans  of  the  female  sex,  take  in  marriage  of  such 
other  women  as  please  you,  two  or  three,  or  four, 
and  not  more.  But  if  ye  fear  that  ye  cannot  act  equi- 
tably toward  so  many,  marry  one  only,  or  the  slaves 
which  ye  shall  have  acquired." 

This  verse  not  only  allows  polygamy,  but  permits 
concubinage  to  any  extent,  for  the  "  one,  two,  three, 
or  four  "  wives  are  those  only  whom  a  man  has  le- 
gally married;  he  is  permitted  to  live  with  other 
women  slaves,  or  free  women  who  sell  themselves 
for  a  price,  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  if  he  does 
not  care  to  contract  an  orderly  marriage.  The  most 
cursory  reading  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 
suffices  to  show  how  utterly  opposed  this  is  to  their 
teaching.  The  legal  system  of  Muhammadan  coun- 
tries makes  elaborate  provision  for  what  in  Chris- 
tian lands  exists  only  under  the  ban  of  law,  and  in 
spite  of  recognized  morality ;  and  it  is  even  urged  by 
Muslims  as  a  glory  of  their  religion  that  with  them 
such  illicit  unions  entail  no  punishment,  and  reflect 
no  disgrace  on  the  parties  concerned  or  their  off- 
spring. In  Sura  LXX.,  Surat  al  Maarij,  the  Steps, 
v.  30,  31,  all  women  are  forbidden  to  true  believers 
"  other  than  their  wives,  or  the  slaves  which  their 


So  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

right  hands  possess,  for  as  to  them  they  shall  be 
blameless.'' 

Divorce. 

These  provisions,  with  freedom  to  divorce  a  wife 
at  pleasure,  subject  only  to  the  return  of  her  dowry, 
the  husband  having  the  right  to  retain  their  children, 
ought  to  be  considered  liberty  enough  for  the  most 
exacting  polygamist.  We  must  remember,  also,  that 
the  words  "  four  wives  "  simply  refer  to  the  num- 
ber with  whom  a  man  may  legally  live  at  one  time. 
The  possibilities  of  death  and  divorce  open  a  wide 
vista  before  him,  so  that  a  procession  of  wives  may 
pass  through  a  man's  house  with  kaleidoscopic 
change.  One  such  case  I  have  known  where  a  man 
had  been  the  husband  of  twenty-five  wives.  Another 
was  highly  praised  to  me  as  a  most  excellent  man 
in  every  respect  but  one,  "  his  bad  habit  was  marry- 
ing and  divorcing  so  many  wives." 

Bible  Divorce. 

With  regard  to  divorce,  the  Old  Testament  speaks 
as  follows : 

Deuteronomy  xxiv.  1-4:  *' When  a  man  hath 
taken  a  wife  and  married  her  and  it  come  to  pass 
that  she  find  no  favor  in  his  eyes,  because  he  hath 
found  some  uncleanness  in  her,  then  let  him  write 
her  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  give  it  in  her  hand  and 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  8 1 

send  her  out  of  his  house.  And  when  she  is  departed 
out  of  his  house,  she  may  go  and  be  another  man's 
wife.  And  if  the  latter  husband  hate  her  and  \vrite 
her  a  bill  of  divorcement  and  sendeth  her  out  of  his 
house,  or  if  the  latter  husband  die,  which  took  her 
to  be  his  wife,  her  former  husband,  which  sent  her 
away,  may  not  take  her  again  to  be  his  wife,  after 
that  she  is  defiled;  for  that  is  abomination  before 
the  Lord.  And  thou  shalt  not  cause  the  land  to  sin 
which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee  for  an  inheri- 
tance." 

Malachi  ii.  14-16:  "  Because  the  Lord  hath  been 
witness  between  thee  and  the  wife  of  thy  youth, 
against  whom  thou  hast  dealt  treacherously:  yet  is 
she  thy  companion  and  the  wife  of  thy  covenant. 
And  did  he  not  make  one?  Yet  had  he  the  residue 
of  the  Spirit.  And  wherefore  one?  That  he  might 
seek  a  godly  seed.  Therefore,  take  heed  to  your 
spirit,  and  let  none  deal  treacherously  against  the 
wife  of  his  youth.  For  the  Lord,  the  God  of  Israel, 
saith  that  he  hateth  putting  away;  for  one  covereth 
violence  with  his  garment,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts; 
therefore,  take  heed  to  your  spirit,  that  ye  deal  not 
treacherously." 

The  New  Testament  says  in  Mark  x.  2-12 :  "  And 
the  Pharisees  came  to  him  and  asked  him.  Is  it  law- 
ful for  a  man  to  put  away  his  wife?  tempting  him. 
And  he  answered  and  said  unto  them.  What  did 
Moses  command  you?     And  they  said,  Moses  suf- 


82  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

fered  to  write  her  a  bill  of  divorcement,  and  to  put  her 
away.  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  them,  For 
the  hardness  of  your  heart  he  wrote  you  this  precept. 
But  from  the  beginning  of  the  creation  God  made 
them  male  and  female.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man 
leave  his  father  and  mother,  and  cleave  to  his  wife. 
And  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh ;  so  then  they  are  no 
more  twain,  but  one  flesh.  What,  therefore,  God 
hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asunder.  And 
in  the  house  his  disciples  asked  him  again  of 
the  same  matter.  And  he  saith  unto  them,  Whoso- 
ever shall  put  away  his  wife,  and  marry  another, 
committeth  adultery  against  her.  And  if  a  woman 
shall  put  away  her  husband,  and  be  married  to  an- 
other, she  committeth  adultery." 

Quran. 

Sura  II.,  Surat  ul  Baqr,  the  Cow,  v.  229,  230: 
"  Ye  may  divorce  your  wives  twice,  and  then  either 
retain  them  with  humanity  or  dismiss  them  with 
kindness.  But  if  the  husband  divorce  her  a  third 
time,  she  shall  not  be  lawful  for  him  again,  until  she 
marry  another  husband.  But  if  he  also  divorce  her, 
it  shall  be  no  crime  in  them  if  they  return  to  each 
other,  if  they  think  they  can  observe  the  ordinance 
of  God,  and  these  are  the  ordinances  of  God ;  He  de- 
clareth  them  to  people  of  understanding." 

Woman,  under  the  Mosaic  law,  occupied  an  hon- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  83 

orable  position,  enjoying  carefully  guarded  rights. 
For  example:  Numbers  xxvii.  8:  ''If  a  man  die, 
and  have  no  son,  then  ye  shall  cause  his  inheritance 
to  pass  unto  his  daughter." 

Even  non-Israelites  of  that  peculiarly  helpless 
class,  captives  of  war,  had  rights  to  be  respected  and 
natural  feelings  to  be  considered.  If  the  captor  of 
such  a  one  desired  to  contract  marriage  with  her, 
and  no  other  relation  is  recognized  in  the  Mosaic 
law,  she  was  allowed  a  month  before  marriage  in 
which  she  might  bewail  her  father  and  mother  and 
reconcile  herself  to  her  new  situation.  If  her  hus- 
band wearied  of  her  he  was  strictly  forbidden  to  sell 
her;  she  was  to  receive  unconditional  freedom,  as 
we  learn  from  Deuteronomy  xxi.  10-14. 

In  Old  Testament  times  several  women  are  men- 
tioned as  exercising  the  gift  of  prophecy — Miriam, 
the  sister  of  Moses ;  Hannah,  Huldah,  and  Deborah, 
who  held  the  office  of  judge  in  Israel,  and  even  ac- 
companied their  army  to  battle.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment era  the  Holy  Spirit  was  bestowed  as  freely  on 
women  as  on  men.  Through  the  whole  Bible  there 
is  no  hint  of  sex  being  considered  a  ground  of  in- 
vidious distinction,  or  a  reason  why  women  should 
be  considered  the  inferiors  of  men.  The  same  gen- 
eral laws  are  promulgated  for  the  two  sexes;  they 
are  held  equally  responsible  before  God,  and  share 
in  the  same  rewards  and  punishments. 

The  laws  of  their  reciprocal  duties  are  thus  de- 


84  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

fined:  Ephesians  v.  25,  28,  33 :  ''  Husbands,  love 
your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  church  and 
gave  himself  for  it.  So  ought  men  to  love  their 
wives  as  their  own  bodies.  He  that  loveth  his  wife 
loveth  himself.  Nevertheless,  let  every  one  of  you  in 
particular  so  love  his  wife  even  as  himself,  and  the 
wife  see  that  she  reverence  her  husband." 

I  Peter  iii.  1-4,  7 :  ''  Likewise,  ye  wives,  be  in  sub- 
jection to  your  own  husbands;  that  if  any  obey  not 
the  word,  they  also  may  without  the  word  be  won 
by  the  chaste  conversation  of  the  wives,  while  they 
behold  your  chaste  conversation  coupled  with  fear. 
Whose  adorning  let  it  not  be  that  outward  adorn- 
ing of  plaiting  the  hair,  and  of  wearing  of  gold, 
or  of  putting  on  of  apparel,  but  let  it  be  the  hidden 
man  of  the  heart,  in  that  which  is  not  corruptible, 
even  the  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit,  which 
is  in  the  sight  of  God  of  great  price.  Likewise,  ye 
husbands,  dwell  with  them  according  to  knowl- 
edge, giving  honor  unto  the  wife,  as  being  the 
weaker  vessel,  and  as  being  heirs  together  of  the 
grace  of  life;  that  your  prayers  be  not  hindered." 

Galatians  iii.  26-28 :  "  For  ye  are  all  the  children 
of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus.  For  as  many  of  you 
as  have  been  baptized  into  Christ  have  put  on  Christ. 
There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there  is  neither 
bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor  female ;  for 
ye  are  all  one  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  of  Women :    "  Men  shall 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  85 

have  the  pre-eminence  over  women,  because  of  those 
advantages  wherein  God  hath  caused  the  one  of  them 
to  excel  the  other,  and  for  that  which  they  expend 
of  their  substance  in  maintaining  their  wives.  The 
honest  women  are  obedient,  careful  in  the  absence 
of  their  husbands ;  for  that  God  preserveth  them  by 
committing  them  to  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
men.  But  those  w^hose  perverseness  ye  shall  be  ap- 
prehensive of,  rebuke;  and  remove  them  into  sep- 
arate apartments  and  chastise  them.  But  if  they  be 
obedient  unto  you,  seek  not  an  occasion  of  quarrel 
against  them,  for  God  is  high  and  great." 

Sura  XL.,  Surat  al  Zukhraf,  Ornaments  of  Gold, 
v.  17,  characterizes  women  as  ''brought  up  among 
ornaments,  and  contentious  without  cause." 

The  Muslim  Heaven. 

For  many  years  the  erroneous  impression  pre- 
vailed among  Christians  that  Islam  believes  woman 
to  be  destitute  of  a  soul,  and,  like  the  animals,  in- 
capable of  salvation.  They  doubtless  fell  into  this 
mistake  from,  observing  the  inferior  position  ac- 
corded her  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  that  faith, 
and  the  prominence  given  to  the  male  sex  in  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  joys  of  Paradise.  The  Quran,  as 
quoted  below,  expressly  promises  heaven  to  the  fe- 
male believer ;  but  as  her  rewards  are  described  in  a 
general  way,  while  those  of  men  are  specified  mi- 


86  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

nutely,  her  share  of  eternal  blessedness  is  more  likely 
to  be  overlooked. 

Sura  XL.,  Surat  al  Zukhraf,  Ornaments  of  Gold, 
V.  68-73  :  ''  O  my  servants,  there  shall  no  fear  come 
on  you  that  day,  neither  shall  ye  be  grieved,  who 
have  believed  in  our  signs  and  been  Muslims ;  enter 
into  Paradise,  you  and  your  wives,  with  great  joy. 
Dishes  of  gold  shall  be  carried  round  unto  them, 
and  cups  without  handles,  and  therein  shall  they 
enjoy  whatever  their  soul  shall  desire,  and  whatever 
their  eyes  shall  delight  in,  and  ye  shall  remain  therein 
forever.  This  is  Paradise,  which  ye  have  inherited 
as  a  reward  for  that  which  ye  have  wrought.  There- 
in shall  ye  have  fruit  in  abundance,  of  which  ye  shall 
eat." 

Sura  LV.,  Surat  al  Rahman,  the  Merciful,  v.  54- 
58 :  "  They  shall  repose  on  couches,  the  linings  of 
which  shall  be  thick  silk  interwoven  with  gold,  and 
the  fruit  of  the  two  gardens  shall  be  near  at  hand 
together.  Therein  shall  receive  them  beautiful  dam- 
sels, refraining  their  eyes  from  beholding  any 
besides  their  spouses — having  complexions  like 
rubies  and  pearls  (v.  72)  ;  having  fine  black  eyes 
and  kept  in  pavilions  from  public  view  (v.  76)  ; 
therein  shall  they  delight  themselves,  lying  on  green 
cushions  and  beautiful  carpets." 

Sura  LVL,  Surat  al  Waqia,  the  Inevitable,  v.  15- 
37 :  ''  Reposing  on  couches  adorned  with  gold  and 
precious    stones,    sitting   opposite   to   one   another 


ISLAAI    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  g/ 

thereon.  Youths  which  shall  continue  in  their 
bloom  forever,  shall  go  round  about  to  attend  them, 
with  goblets,  and  beakers,  and  a  cup  of  flowing 
wine;  their  heads  shall  not  ache  by  drinking  the 
same,  neither  shall  their  reason  be  disturbed;  and 
with  fruits  of  the  sorts  which  they  shall  choose,  and 
the  flesh  of  birds  of  the  kind  which  they  shall  de- 
sire. And  there  shall  accompany  them  fair  damsels, 
having  large  black  eyes;  resembling  pearls  hidden 
in  their  shells ;  as  a  reward  for  that  which  they  have 
wrought.  They  shall  not  hear  therein  any  vain  dis- 
course, nor  any  charge  of  sin,  but  only  the  salutation, 
Peace!  Peace!  And  the  companions  of  the  right 
hand,  how  happy  shall  the  companions  of  the  right 
hand  be !  shall  have  their  abode  among  lote  trees  free 
from  thorns,  and  trees  of  mauz  loaded  regularly  with 
their  produce  from  top  to  bottom ;  under  an  extended 
shade,  near  a  flowing  water  and  amidst  fruit  in 
abundance,  which  shall  not  fail,  nor  be  forbidden  to 
be  gathered:  and  they  shall  repose  themselves  on 
lofty  beds.  Verily,  we  have  created  the  virgins  of 
Paradise  by  a  peculiar  creation,  and  we  have  made 
them  virgins,  beloved  by  their  husbands,  of  equal  age 
with  them ;  for  the  delight  of  the  companions  of  the 
right  hand." 

Sura  XVIIL,  Surat  al  Kahaf,  the  Cave,  v.  30: 
''  They  shall  be  adorned  with  bracelets  of  gold  and 
they  shall  be  clothed  in  green  garments  of  fine  silk 
and    brocade,    reposing    themselves    therein    upon 


88  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

thrones.     O  how  happy  a  reward  and  how  easy  a 
couch !" 

Sura  III.,  Sur  al  Imran,  Family  of  Aaron,  v.  14, 
15  :  ''  The  love  and  eager  desire  of  wives  and  chil- 
dren, and  sums  heaped  up  of  gold  and  silver,  and  ex- 
cellent horses  and  cattle  and  land,  is  prepared  for 
men;  this  is  the  provision  of  the  present  life;  but 
unto  God  shall  be  the  most  excellent  return.  Say, 
shall  I  declare  unto  you  better  things  than  these? 
For  those  who  are  devout  are  prepared  with  their 
Lord  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow:  therein 
shall  they  continue  forever:  and  they  shall  enjoy 
wives  free  from  impurity,  and  the  favor  of  God,  for 
God  regardeth  his  servants." 

Teachings  of  Scripture. 

These  descriptions  appear  utterly  opposed  to  the 
following  passages  from  the  Holy  Scriptures : 

Romans  xiv.  17:  "For  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness  and  peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

I  Corinthians  xv.  50 :  "  Now  this  I  say,  breth- 
ren, that  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom 
of  God:  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incorrup- 
tion." 

I  John  ii.  15-17:  "Love  not  the  world,  neither 
the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  If  any  man  love 
the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.    For 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY,  89 

all  that  is  in  the  world,  the  lust  of  the  flesh  and  the 
lust  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of  life,  is  not  of  the 
Father,  but  is  of  the  world.  And  the  world  passeth 
away,  and  the  lust  thereof :  but  he  that  doeth  the  will 
of  God  abideth  forever." 

Matthew  xxii.  29,  30 :  ''  Jesus  answered  and  said 
unto  them,  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures 
•nor  the  power  of  God.  For  in  the  resurrection  they 
neither  marry,  nor  are  given  in  marriage,  but  are  as 
the  angels  of  God  in  heaven." 

Luke  XX.  34-36 :  "  And  Jesus  answering  said 
unto  them.  The  children  of  this  world  marry,  and 
are  given  in  marriage.  But  they  which  shall  be  ac- 
counted worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  neither  marry  nor  are  given 
in  marriage.  Neither  can  they  die  any  more:  for 
they  are  equal  unto  the  angels;  and  are  the  children 
of  God,  being  the  children  of  the  resurrection." 

Psalms  xvi.  11:"  Thou  wilt  show  me  the  path 
of  life;  in  thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy;  at  thy  right 
hand  there  are  pleasures  for  evermore." 

Psalms  xvii.  13-15  :  ''  Deliver  my  soul  from  the 
wicked,  which  is  thy  sword,  from  men  which  are 
thy  hand,  O  Lord,  from  men  of  the  world,  which 
have  their  portion  in  this  life,  and  whose  belly  thou 
fillest  with  thy  treasure:  they  are  full  of  chil- 
dren, and  leave  the  rest  of  their  substance  to  their 
babes.     As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  right- 


90  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

eousness,  I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy 
likeness." 

Revelation  vii.  9-17 :  "  After  this  I  beheld,  and  lo, 
a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could  number,  of 
all  nations,  and  kindreds,  and  people,  and  tongues, 
stood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with  white  robes,  and  with  palms  in  their 
hands :  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Salva- 
tion to  our  God  which  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and 
unto  the  Lamb.  And  all  the  angels  stood  round 
about  the  throne,  and  about  the  elders  and  the  four 
beasts,  and  fell  before  the  throne  on  their  faces,  and 
worshipped  God,  saying.  Amen :  blessing,  and  glory, 
and  wisdom,  and  thanksgiving,  and  honor,  and 
power,  and  might,  be  unto  our  God  for  ever  and  ever. 
Amen.  And  one  of  the  elders  answered,  saying  unto 
me,  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed  in  white  robes, 
and  whence  came  they?  And  I  said  unto  him.  Sir, 
thou  knowest.  And  he  said  to  me,  These  are  they 
which  came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have 
washed  their  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are  they  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day  and  night  in  his 
temple :  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell 
among  them.  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither 
thirst  any  more ;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them, 
nor  any  heat;  for  the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  91 

unto  living  fountains  of  waters ;  and  God  shall  wipe 
away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

Private  Vengeance. 

Another  discrepancy  between  the  books  is  found 
in  the  precepts  regarding  private  vengeance. 

Romans  xii.  17-21 :  ''  Recompense  to  no  man  evil 
for  evil.  Provide  things  honest  in  the  sight  of 
all  men.  If  it  be  possible,  as  much  as  lieth  in  you, 
live  peaceably  with  all  men.  Dearly  beloved,  avenge 
not  yourselves,  but  rather  give  place  unto  wrath,  for 
it  is  written,  Vengeance  is  mine,  I  will  repay,  saith 
the  Lord.  Therefore,  if  thine  enemy  hunger,  feed 
him:  if  he  thirst,  give  him  drink:  for  in  so  doing 
thou  shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  on  his  head.  Be  not 
overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good." 

Matthew  v.  44 :  "But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your 
enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully 
use  you  and  persecute  you." 

In  the  Old  Testament  we  have  the  example  of 
David  sparing  the  life  of  his  inveterate  enemy  when 
in  his  power.  In  the  New  Testament  Christ  per- 
forms a  miracle  of  healing  upon  one  of  the  band 
come  to  apprehend  him.  On  the  cross,  he  prayed 
for  the  forgiveness  of  his  murderers,  and  before 
his  ascension  directed  that  forgiveness  of  sins  in 
his  name  should  first  be  preached  to  the  Jerusalem 


92  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Jews,  who  had  dehvered  him  to  death.  This  was 
done,  with  the  result  that  many  of  them  repented, 
beHeved,  and  were  saved. 

The  Quran  says  in  Sura  XXIL,  Surat  al  Hajj, 
Pilgrimage,  v.  6i :  "  This  is  so.  Whoever  shall 
take  a  vengeance  equal  to  the  injury  which  hath  been 
done  him,  and  shall  afterward  be  unjustly  treated, 
verily  God  will  assist  him,  for  God  is  merciful  and 
ready  to  forgive." 

Sura  VIIL,  Surat  al  Aufal,  v.  12-14  •  "  I  will  cast 
a  dread  into  the  hearts  of  the  unbelievers.  There- 
fore strike  off  their  heads  and  strike  off  the  ends  of 
their  fingers.  This  shall  they  suffer,  because  they 
have  resisted  God  and  his  Apostle;  and  whosoever 
shall  oppose  God  and  his  Apostle,  verily  God  will  be 
severe  in  punishing  him.  This  shall  be  your  pun- 
ishment: taste  it,  therefore:  and  the  infidels  shall 
also  suffer  the  torments  of  hell  fire." 

War. 

With  regard  to  war,  compare  the  following  pas- 
sages : 

Luke  ix.  52-56 :  "  And  they  went  and  entered 
into  a  village  of  the  Samaritans,  to  make  ready  for 
him.  But  they  did  not  receive  him,  because  his 
face  was  as  though  he  would  go  to  Jerusalem.  And 
when  his  disciples  James  and  John  saw  this,  they 
said,  Lord,  wilt  thou  that  we  command  fire  to  come 


ISLAM     AND     CHRISTIANITY.  93 

down  from  heaven  and  consume  them,  even  as  Elias 
did?  But  he  turned  and  rebuked  them,  and  said, 
Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of.  For 
the  Son  of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives, 
but  to  save  them.  And  they  went  to  another  vil- 
lage.'' 

Matthew  xxvi.  51-52  :  "  And  behold,  one  of  them 
which  were  with  Jesus  stretched  out  his  hand,  and 
drew  his  sword,  and  struck  a  servant  of  the  high 
priest  and  smote  off  his  ear.  Then  said  Jesus  unto 
him,  Put  up  again  thy  sword  into  his  place,  for  all 
they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the 
sword." 

Luke  xxii.  5 1 :  "And  Jesus  answered  and  said, 
Suffer  ye  thus  far.  And  he  touched  his  ear  and 
healed  him."  1 1  Corinthians  x.  3-5  :  "  For  though 
we  walk  in  the  flesh,  we  do  not  war  after  the  flesh : 
for  the  weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but 
mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong- 
holds— casting  down  imaginations  and  every  high 
thing  which  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge  of 
God,  and  bringing  into  captivity  everything  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ." 

In  sharp  contrast,  we  read  in  Sura  XLVIL,  Sura 
Muhammad,  v.  4-9 :  "  When  ye  encounter  the  un- 
believers, strike  off  their  heads  until  ye  have  made  a 
great  slaughter  among  them:  and  bind  them  in 
bonds,  and  either  give  them  a  free  dismission  after- 
wards, or  exact  a  ransom:  until  the  war  shall  have 


94  HLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

laid  down  its  arms.  This  shall  ye  do.  Verily,  if 
God  pleased  he  could  take  vengeance  on  them  with- 
out your  assistance,  but  he  commandeth  you  to  fight 
his  battles,  that  he  may  prove  the  one  of  you  by  the 
other.  And  as  to  those  who  fight  in  defence  of  God's 
true  religion,  God  will  not  suffer  their  works  to 
perish;  he  will  guide  them  and  will  dispose  their 
hearts  aright,  and  he  will  lead  them  into  Paradise, 
of  which  he  hath  told  them.  O  true  believers,  if 
you  assist  God,  he  will  assist  you,  and  will  set  your 
feet  fast ;  but  as  for  the  infidels^  let  them  perish." 

The  wars  of  Islam  have  been  likened  to  those  of 
Moses,  Joshua,  and  David,  and  justified  by  their  ex- 
ample. 

To  this  we  might  reply  by  asking  if  Muhammad 
and  his  generals  can  produce  as  evident  proofs  of  di- 
vine commission  and  direction  as  those  great  lead- 
ers ;  if  so,  acting  under  the  same  circumstances,  and 
for  the  same  objects,  we  may  then  concede  their  right 
to  wield  the  same  sword. 

The  authority  of  Moses  was  attested  by  a  series 
of  wonderful  miracles,  and  vindicated  by  God 
against  those  Israelites  who  opposed  it  by  their  sud- 
den destruction,  untouched  by  man,  one  party  of 
rebels  being  swallowed  up  alive  by  the  earth,  an- 
other consumed  by  fire  from  heaven,  while  many 
others  died  from  a  plague  which  only  ceased  to  rage 
upon  the  intercession  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 

Joshua  commanded  the  sun  and  moon  to  stand 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  95 

still  in  the  heavens,  and  was  obeyed.  Hailstones 
from  above  discomfited  his  adversaries,  and  the  walls 
of  Jericho  fell  down  before  him:  he  was  thus  un- 
doubtedly acknowledged  as  the  servant  of  God. 

But  we  must  also  notice  that  these  wars  were  not 
undertaken  for  purposes  of  religious  proselytism,  or 
to  extend  even  the  only  true  religion  by  force  of 
arms.  The  Canaanites  were  to  be  driven  out  of  a 
specified  small  territory,  which  God  had  long  before 
covenanted  to  give  at  a  set  time  to  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham. Meanwhile  it  was  occupied  by  the  seven  tribes 
as  temporary  tenants,  but  so  defiled  by  their  horrible 
crimes  that  the  Lord  would  no  longer  suffer  them  to 
remain.  They  were  not  unaware  of  the  promises 
made  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob;  forty  years' 
notice  of  impending  invasion  and  respite  had  been  , 

given  them  from  the  time  the  Israelites  left  Egypt  /"^ 

until  their  entrance  into  the  promised  land,  which 
time  amply  sufficed  for  warning  and  action,  deciding 
them  either  to  submit  to  the  new  owners  of  the  land, 
or  to  remove  elsewhere.  The  words  of  Rahab,  and 
of  the  Gibeonites  as  recorded  in  the  second  and  ninth 
chapters  of  the  book  of  Joshua,  show  us  that  the  Ca- 
naanites were  fully  informed  of  the  situation, 
and  that  in  concluding  to  remain  and  resist  God  they 
did  so  at  their  own  peril.  Only  those  who  did  so 
resist,  and  who  persisted  in  their  occupancy  of  the 
land  were  put  to  death.  No  command  for  the  ex- 
termination of  the  race  was  given,  and  as  a  matter  of 


96  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

fact  many  of  them,  it  is  said,  fled  from  the  country 
and  estabhshed  themselves  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.  They  were  to  be  expelled  from  Palestine 
lest  the  people  of  God  should  be  corrupted  by  their 
false  faith  and  abominable  practices.  But  this  ex- 
pulsion of  a  race  from  one  small  country  was  surely 
very  different  from  the  right  claimed  by  Islam  to 
subject  all  non-Muslims  everywhere  to  death  or  trib- 
ute, the  latter  state  amounting  to  a  deprivation  of  all 
equal  rights,  and  an  assumption  of  supreme  author- 
ity extending  in  theory  to  the  major  part  of  the 
human  race.     Islam  seems  to  stand  alone  among 

f  the  great  religions  of  the  world  in  its  assertion  of  a 
divine  commission  to  propagate  itself  by  force.  In 
none  of  David's  great  wars  does  he  appear  to  have 
been  the  aggressor.  When  attacked,  he  fought  in 
self-defence,  and  being  victorious,  subjected  his  ene- 
mies to  tribute  and  obedience;  but,  although  those 
enemies  were  idolaters  of  a  degraded  type,  it  is  no- 
where recorded  that  he  ever  took  up  arms  to  compel 
them  to  worship  his  God,  or  that  when  they  came 
under  his  control  any  constraint  was  placed  upon 
them  to  profess  his  religion.  The  spirit  of  the  true 
faith  is  utterly  opposed  to  force.    God  persuades  and 

•  enables  men  to  love  and  obey  him,  but  never  compels 
one  to  serve  him  as  a  hypocrite,  with  external  and 
enforced  observances.  He  desires  the  free  and  in- 
telligent devotion  of  the  heart,  impelled  by  the  spring 
from  within  rather  than  the  spur  from  without,  un- 


ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY,  97 

terrified  by  earthly  penalties  and  unallured  by  the 
hope  of  worldly  spoils  and  honor.  You  know 
whether  all  the  adherents  of  Islam,  in  its  earlier  or 
later  history,  could  bear  these  tests  of  a  genuine  at- 
tachment to  their  faith.  It  is  certainly  reported  and 
believed  that  many  conversions  even  among  the  Arab 
tribes  were  compelled  by  the  formidable  political 
power  of  the  Prophet,  and  were  never  the  result  of 
sincere  conviction.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  such 
adherents  ever  brought  any  real  strength  to  the  new 
religion;  and  it  is  certain  that  some  of  those  who 
were  thus  won  afterward  proved  to  be  elements  of 
strife  and  division.  How  much  dissimulation  and 
weakness  is  traceable  to  the  principle  which  author- 
izes these  forced  conversions !  Hovv^  many  heretical 
sects,  while  enemies  at  heart  to  Islam,  masquerade 
under  its  profession,  weakening  rather  than 
strengthening  the  fabric  of  which  they  are  presum- 
ably a  part !  Even  the  devil-worshippers  in  Muslim 
countries  when  away  from  their  own  villages  pass 
for  orthodox  believers! 

Duplicity  Allowed  by  the  Quran. 

In  this  connection,  we  cannot  but  notice  another 
point  of  divergence  on  the  part  of  the  Quran  from 
the  morality  of  the  Bible. 

Neither  Jew  nor  Christian  is  ever  allowed,  under 
any  circumstances,  to  deny  or  dissimulate  his  faith. 


98  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

The  instances  of  the  faithfulness  to  God  of  Daniel 
and  his  friends  at  the  courts  of  Babylon  and  Persia 
will  readily  occur  to  you. 

Christ  thus  commands  his  disciples  in  Matthew 
X.  27-28  and  32-33 :  ''  What  I  tell  you  in  darkness, 
that  speak  ye  in  light ;  and  what  ye  hear  in  the  ear, 
that  preach  ye  upon  the  housetops.  And  fear  not 
them  which  kill  the  body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the 
soul;  but  rather  fear  him  which  is  able  to  destroy 
both  soul  and  body  in  hell.  Whosoever,  therefore, 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also 
before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  But  who- 
soever shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also 
deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 

But  the  Quran  says  in  Sura  XVL,  Surat  al  Nahl, 
the  Bee,  v.  108:  "  Whosoever  denieth  God,  after  he 
hath  believed,  except  him  who  shall  be  compelled  and 
whose  heart  remaineth  steadfast  in  the  faith,  shall 
be  severely  chastised ;  but  whosoever  shall  voluntar- 
ily profess  infidelity,  on  those  shall  the  indignation 
of  God  fall,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punish- 
ment." 

Thus  permission  is  given  in  certain  cases  to  deny 
the  faith,  and  an  opportunity  offers  for  practising 
that  deceit  and  dissimulation  so  congenial  to  human 
nature,  and  which  reacts  so  disastrously  upon  its 
author,  resulting  in  the  formation  of  hypocritical 
character,  and  sapping  all  the  foundations  of  manly 
honor.    The  man  who  dissembles  or  conceals  his  sin- 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  99 

cere  religious  convictions  to  escape  persecution  may 
apparently  gain  in  outward  circumstances,  but  he 
suffers  irreparable  loss  in  the  inner  damage  sustained 
by  mind  and  heart. 

Terms  of  Salvation. 

Another  very  grave  discrepancy  is  observed  in  re- 
lation to  the  terms  of  salvation  prescribed  by  the  Qu- 
ran, contrasted  with  those  previously  revealed  in  the 
Bible.  Both  books  recognize  the  sinfulness  of  man, 
and  teach  the  necessity  of  reconciliation  to  God,  re- 
vealing the  punishments  of  hell  and  the  rewards  of 
heaven,  but  they  point  out  very  different  roads 
to  avoid  the  one  and  attain  the  other. 

At  first  glance  a  superficial  resemblance  appears 
between  the  Old  Testament  ordinances  of  religion 
and  those  of  Islam ;  each  possessing  the  rites  of  sac- 
rifice, and  restrictions  on  food  and  social  intercourse 
tending  to  separate  their  adherents  from  other  men. 
Each  possesses  a  pre-eminently  sacred  city,  and  ob- 
serves set  seasons  for  religious  feasting  and  fasting. 
When  we  examine  more  closely,  we  discover  the  ap- 
parent likeness  has  no  real  basis  in  fact.  The  true 
Jewish  dispensation  began  not  with  Moses,  but  with 
Abraham ;  and  with  the  exception  of  the  rites  of  sac- 
rifice and  circumcision,  none  of  the  elaborate  ritual 
introduced  by  the  medium  of  Moses  was  enjoined 
in  the  beginning  on  the  Israelites,  nor  was  any  men- 


100  ISLAM    "AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

tion  made  of  any  particular  locality  as  a  centre  of 
worship.  When  these  features  were  introduced,  in- 
timations were  given  of  their  temporary  and  typical 
character;  the  Israelites  were  instructed  to  expect 
a  time  when  all  nations  should  receive  a  blessing  and 
all  barriers  be  broken  down  between  them  and  the 
chosen  race.  From  the  very  first,  God,  speaking 
through  the  prophets,  was  most  careful  to  warn  the 
children  of  Israel  to  build  no  vain  hopes  on  the  ob- 
servance of  rites  and  ceremonies.  He  told  them  that 
the  spirit  of  worship  is  of  prime  importance;  that 
obedience  and  heartfelt  love  are  required  by  God 
from  those  who  would  serve  him ;  that  mere  lip  ser- 
vice, outward  works,  or  costly  offerings  apart  from 
a  contrite  spirit,  a  renewed  heart,  and  a  holy  life, 
profit  nothing,  but  are  an  abomination  in  his  sight. 
The  Old  Testament  is  full  of  this  teaching,  as  ap- 
pears from  a  few  citations. 

Psalms  li.  i6,  17:  "  For  thou  desirest  not  sacri- 
fice, else  would  I  give  it ;  thou  delightest  not  in  burnt 
offering.  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit ; 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not 
despise." 

Micah  vi.  6-8 :  "  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before 
the  Lord,  and  bow  myself  before  the  High  God? 
Shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt-offerings,  with 
calves  of  a  year  old  ?  Will  the  Lord  be  pleased  with 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil?  Shall  I  give  my  first- 
born for  my  transgression  ?  the  fruit  of  my  body  for 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY,  loi 

the  sin  of  my  soul  ?  He  hath  showed  thee,  O  man, 
what  is  good,  and  what  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee 
but  to  do  justly,  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  hum- 
bly with  thy  God?" 

Isaiah  Ixiv.  5,6:  "  Thou  meetest  him  that  rejoic- 
eth  and  worketh  righteousness,  those  that  remember 
thee  in  thy  ways.  Behold,  thou  art  wroth;  for  we 
have  sinned ;  in  those  is  continuance,  and  we  shall  be 
saved.  But  we  are  all  as  an  unclean  thing,  and  all 
our  righteousnesses  are  filthy  rags :  and  we  all  do 
fade  as  a  leaf;  and  our  iniquities,  like  the  wind,  have 
taken  us  away." 

The  New  Testament  fully  agrees  with  the  Old  as 
to  man's  moral  ruin,  and  inability  to  present  a  right- 
eousness of  his  own  which  shall  avail  to  procure  the 
pardon  of  his  sins  or  release  him  from  a  just  con- 
demnation. Not  only  is  he  found,  when  tried  by 
the  perfect  law  of  God,  to  have  committed  many  of- 
fences, and  to  have  failed  in  the  performance  of  es- 
sential duties,  but  his  character,  mind,  and  disposi- 
tion are  seen  to  be  depraved  and  incapable  of  serving 
God. 

Temporary  Character  of  the  Ceremonial  Law, 

The  law  of  Moses  is  shown  to  have  fulfilled  its 
mission,  from  one  point  of  view,  in  revealing  man's 
incapacity  to  keep  it.  Jesus  Christ  alone  is  repre- 
sented as  fulfilling  the  law  perfectly  in  letter  and 
spirit,  thus  working  out  a  perfect  righteousness  im- 


I02  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

puted  to  the  repentant  sinner  and  received  by  trust- 
ing in  him  as  a  substitute  provided  by  God  himself. 
He  it  was  who,  being  prefigured  in  the  sacrifices 
and  rites  of  the  ceremonial  law,  came  at  the  ap- 
pointed time  and,  with  all  the  circumstances  foretold 
by  the  prophets,  to  put  away  sin  by  offering  himself 
to  bear  its  punishment. 

The  law  having  served  its  purpose,  and  being  but 
a  temporary  expedient,  is  now  discarded,  as  no 
longer  necessary. 

This,  however,  only  applies  to  the  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Mosaic  law.  The  moral  code,  as  con- 
tained in  the  Ten  Commandments  and  summarized 
in  the  injunction  to  love  God  perfectly  and  our  neigh- 
bor as  ourselves,  can  never  pass  away.  It  is  Christ 
alone  who  enables  us  to  fulfil  it,  imparting  to  us  his 
own  nature  and  training  us  to  be  conformed  to  God's 
will,  in  heart  and  life. 

He  brought  the  Kingdom  of  God  into  this  world, 
that  kingdom  which  means  the  acceptance  of  the  will 
of  God  to  rule  our  life,  and  cordial  submission  to 
him  as  our  only  Sovereign. 

Our  Saviour  never  spoke  of  himself  as  abrogat- 
ing the  previous  revelation,  but  as  fulfilling  it,  in- 
cluding the  ceremonial  law.  He  guarded  the  moral 
law  with  jealous  care,  lest  any  should  dream  that 
liberty  from  that  which  was  of  transient  and  sec- 
ondary importance  carried  with  it  permission  to 
cast  off  that  which  was  permanent  and  essential.    He 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  103 

Opened,  explained,  enforced,  and  by  his  own  exam- 
ple illustrated  its  precepts  so  as  to  reveal  in  them  a 
height,  breadth,  and  depth  hitherto  undreamt  of. 

Acceptable  Worship. 

Christ  taught  man  that  the  special  dealings  of  God 
were  no  longer  to  be  confined  to  one  chosen  race,  nor 
was  Jerusalem  to  be  the  spot  where  sacrifice  should 
be  offered,  and  toward  which  prayer  should  be  made. 
If  till  now  it  had  been  the  Qibla  for  the  worshippers 
of  Jehovah,  it  should  be  so  no  longer.  Worship  is 
by  his  teachings  spiritualized,  and  men  have  now 
at  all  times  and  places  access  to  the  throne  of  grace, 
the  conditions  of  successful  prayer  and  acceptable 
worship  being  founded  on  character  alone. 

John  iv.  21-24:  "  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Woman, 
believe  me,  the  hour  cometh  when  ye  shaU  neither 
in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jerusalem,  worship  the 
Father.  Ye  worship  ye  know  not  what:  we  know 
what  we  worship :  for  salvation  is  of  the  Jews.  But 
the  hour  cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worship- 
pers shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth ; 
for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  him.  God  is 
a  spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship 
him  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 

John  iii.  5  :  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  " 
(cleansing)  "  and  of  the  Spirit  "  (imparting  life  and 
energy),  ''he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God." 


104  'ISLAM    ^ND    CHRISTIANITY. 

John  iii.  i6,  17:  "For  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever 
believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life." 

Acts  xvi.  30,  31 :  "  Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be 
saved?  And  they  said.  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved  and  thy  house." 

Titus  iii.  4-7 :  "  But  after  that  the  kindness  and 
love  of  God  our  Saviour  toward  man  appeared,  not 
by  works  of  righteousness  which  we  have  done,  but 
according  to  his  mercy  he  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of 
regeneration,  and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
which  he  shed  on  us  abundantly  through  Jesus 
Christ  our  Saviour.  That  being  justified  by  his 
grace,  we  should  be  made  heirs  according  to  the  hope 
of  eternal  life." 

Titus  ii.  14 :  "  Who  gave  himself  for  us,  that  he 
might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity,  and  purify  unto 
himself  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good  works." 

Luke  X.  25-28 :  "  And  behold,  a  certain  lawyer 
stood  up  and  tempted  him,  saying,  Master,  what 
shall  I  do  to  inherit  eternal  life?  He  said  unto 
him.  What  is  written  in  the  law  ?  how  readest  thou  ? 
And  he  answering  said.  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord 
thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and 
with  all  thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself.  And  he  said  unto  him.  Thou 
hast  answered  right :  this  do,  and  thou  shalt  live."* 

♦Quoted  from  Deuteronomy  vi.  5,  and  Leviticus  xix.  i^ 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY,  105 

Our  Lord,  therefore,  instead  of  contradicting  or 
setting  aside  the  previous  Scriptures,  seizes  on  their 
most  vital  teaching,  exalts  and  reaffirms  it  as  a  rule 
of  life  for  his  followers.  This  rule,  as  comprehend- 
ing the  moral  law,  is  farther  explained  in  Romans 
xiii.  8-10:  "  Owe  no  man  anything  but  to  love  one 
another;  for  he  that  loveth  another  hath  fulfilled 
the  law.  For  this.  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery. 
Thou  shalt  not  kill,  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt 
not  bear  false  witness.  Thou  shalt  not  covet,  and  if 
there  be  any  other  commandment,  it  is  briefly  com- 
prehended in  this  saying,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself.  Love  w^orketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor ; 
therefore,  love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  law."  If  any 
one  says  that  no  mention  is  here  made  of  the  obliga- 
tion to  love  God  supremely,  we  would  reply  that  if 
one  undertakes  to  fulfil  the  duties  of  the  second  table 
of  the  law  he  will  soon  find  them  to  be  indissolubly 
linked  to  those  of  the  first.  He  alone  can  love  his 
brother  as  himself  who  has  first  learned  to  love  God 
above  all. 

Salvation  in  the  Quran. 

Let  us  contrast  with  the  foregoing  words  of  Christ 
and  the  prophets  the  terms  of  salvation  offered  us  in 
the  Quran. 

Sura  IL,  Surat  ul  Baqr,  the  Cow,  v.  42 :  "  Ob- 
serve the  stated  times  of  prayer,  and  pay  your  legal 
alms,  and  bow  down  yourselves  with  those  who  bow 


I06  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

down."  V.  196:  "Perform  the  pilgrimage  of  Mek- 
kah  and  the  visitation  of  God,  and  if  ye  be  besieged, 
send  that  offering  which  shall  be  easiest;  and  shave 
not  your  heads  until  your  offering  reacheth  the  place 
of  sacrifice." 

Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  of  Women,  v.  123: 
"  But  whoso  doeth  good  works,  whether  he  be  male 
or  female,  and  is  a  true  believer,  they  shall  be  ad- 
mitted into  Paradise,  and  shall  not  in  the  least  be 
unjustly  dealt  with." 

Sura  VII.,  V.  8,  9 :  "  The  weighing  of  actions 
on  that  day  shall  be  just;  and  they  whose  balances 
laden  with  their  good  works  shall  be  heavy,  are  those 
who  shall  be  happy ;  but  they  whose  balances  shall  be 
light  are  those  who  have  lost  their  souls,  because  they 
injured  our  signs." 

Sura  XXXV.,  Surat  ul  Fatir,  v.  26,  27:  ''  Ver- 
ily they  who  read  the  book  of  God  and  are  constant 
at  prayer,  and  give  alms  out  of  what  we  have  be- 
stowed upon  them,  both  in  secret  and  openly,  hope 
for  a  merchandise  which  shall  not  perish;  that  God 
may  fully  pay  them  their  wages  and  make  them  a 
superabundant  addition  of  his  liberality." 

Sura  IX.,  Surat  al  Tauba,  Repentance,  v.  112: 
"  Verily  God  hath  purchased  of  the  true  believers 
their  souls  and  their  substance,  promising  them  the 
enjoyments  of  Paradise  on  condition  that  they  fight 
for  the  cause  of  God ;  whether  they  slay  or  be  slain, 
the  promise  for  same  is  assuredly  due  by  the  Law 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  107 

and  the  Gospel  and  the  Quran :  and  who  perf ormeth 
his  contract  more  faithfuhy  than  God?  Rejoice 
therefore  in  the  contract  which  ye  have  made.  This 
shall  be  great  happiness." 

Sura  LITL,  Surat  al  Najm,  v.  33 :  "  As  to  those 
who  avoid  great  crimes  and  heinous  sins  and  are 
guilty  only  of  lighter  faults,  verily  thy  Lord  will  be 
extensive  in  mercy  toward  them." 

Doctrine  of  Imputation. 

With  regard  to  the  possibility  of  salvation  through 
the  merits  of  another,  imputed  to  the  sinner,  the 
Bible  says,  2  Corinthians  v.  21:  ''For  he  hath 
made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  hmi." 
The  Quran  says  in  Sura  LIIL,  v.  40:  "  Nothing 
shall  be  imputed  to  a  man  for  righteousness  except 
his  own  labor." 

Stated  fasts  were  not  commanded  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, except  in  connection  with  the  great  Day  of 
Atonement.  In  times  of  national  trouble  the  people 
were  called  by  their  prophets  to  fasting  and  prayer, 
that  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty  might  be  averted,  and 
his  face  turned  to  his  chosen  race  in  blessing.  Indi- 
viduals in  circumstances  of  trial  also  fasted,  not  as 
laying  claim  to  earn  the  regard  of  God  by  bodily  pri- 
vation, but  as  a  necessary  accompaniment  of  deep 
sorrow  and  fervent  desire,  which  deprive  us  of  our 


Io8  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

accustomed  appetite.  The  Jews,  in  the  time  of  the 
prophet  Isaiah,  having  addicted  themselves  to  formal 
and  perfunctory  fasts,  by  which  they  hoped  to  rec- 
ommend themselves  to  divine  favor,  were  thus 
warned  through  the  prophet : 

Isaiah  Iviii.  3-7 :  "  Wherefore  have  we  fasted,  say 
they,  and  thou  seest  not?  Wherefore  have  we  af- 
flicted our  soul,  and  thou  takest  no  knowledge?  Be- 
hold, in  the  day  of  your  fast  ye  find  pleasure  and  ex- 
act all  your  labors.  Behold,  ye  fast  for  strife  and 
debate,  and  to  smite  with  the  fist  of  wickedness :  ye 
shall  not  fast  as  ye  do  this  day,  to  make  your  voice 
to  be  heard  on  high.  It  is  such  a  fast  that  I  have 
chosen — a  day  for  a  man  to  afflict  his  soul?  Is  it 
to  bow  down  his  head  as  a  bulrush,  and  to  spread 
sackcloth  and  ashes  under  him  ?  Wilt  thou  call  this 
a  fast,  and  an  acceptable  day  unto  the  Lord  ?  Is  not 
this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen :  to  loose  the  bands 
of  wickedness,  to  undo  the  heavy  burdens,  and  to 
let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every 
yoke?  Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and 
that  thou  bring  the  poor  that  are  cast  out  to  thy 
house?  when  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover 
him ;  and  that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own 
flesh?" 

It  is  evident  from  the  New  Testament  that 
Christ  did  not  require  his  disciples  to  fast.  We  read 
in  Mark  ii.  18:  ''And  the  disciples  of  John  and 
of  the  Pharisees  used  to  fast;  and  they  come  and 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  109 

say  unto  him,  Why  do  the  disciples  of  John  and  of 
the  Pharisees  fast,  but  thy  disciples  fast  not?  " 

An  attentive  study  of  the  Scriptures  will  convince 
a  candid  reader  that  they  nowhere  teach  that  men 
can  accumulate  a  store  of  merit,  or  render  themselves 
worthy  of  God's  favor,  by  abstaining  either  from 
taking  nourishment  for  a  certain  number  of  hours 
every  day  or  by  denying  themselves  animal  food  at 
stated  times. 

In  Sura  IL,  Surat  ul  Baqr,  the  Cow,  v.  184,  185, 
it  is  written :  "A  certain  number  of  days  shall  ye 
fast;  but  he  among  you  who  shall  be  sick  or  on  a 
journey  shall  fast  an  equal  number  of  other  days. 
And  those  who  can  keep  it  and  do  not  shall  redeem 
their  neglect  by  maintaining  a  poor  man.  But  if  ye 
fast  it  will  be  better  for  you,  if  ye  knew  it.  The 
month  of  Ramadhan  shall  ye  fast,  in  which  the  Qu- 
ran was  sent  down  from  heaven,  a  direction  unto 
man  and  declarations  of  direction  and  the  distinc- 
tion between  good  and  evil.  Therefore,  let  him 
among  you  who  shall  be  present  in  this  month  fast 
the  same  month ;  but  he  who  shall  be  sick,  or  on  a 
journey,  shall  fast  the  like  number  of  other  days." 

You  know  how  generally  this  fast  is  observed  by 
Muslims,  and  how  most  of  them  regard  it  as  ren- 
dering them  very  meritorious  in  God's  sight,  al- 
though at  no  other  time  in  the  year  are  they  so  quar- 
relsome and  irritable,  and,  as  you  can  testify,  the 
fast  is  often  kept  in  anything  but  a  devotional  spirit. 


no  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

The  faster  longs  for  sunset  ''  as  a  servant  earnestly 
desireth  the  shadow,  and  as  an  hireling  looketh  for 
the  reward  of  his  work  "  (Job  vii.  2),  and  a  day  of 
unnatural  abstinence  followed  by  a  night  of  revelry 
and  excess  is  often  succeeded  by  sickness  and  not  in- 
frequently by  death.  I  have  heard  it  said  the  fast 
was  instituted  to  encourage  frugality,  temperance, 
self-restraint,  and  liberality  to  the  poor.  If  so,  it  has 
surely  been  greatly  perverted  from  its  original  in- 
tention. There  are  several  points  in  connection  with 
this  fast  which  seem  at  variance  with  the  former 
Scriptures.  For  one  thing,  we  are  taught  by  our 
Bible  that  God  loves  the  poor  and  weak,  has  compas- 
sion on  "  the  ignorant  and  them  that  are  out  of  the 
way,"  makes  special  promises  to  the  widow  and  or- 
phan, and  is  "  no  respecter  of  persons." 

Acts  X.  34,  35  :  "  Then  Peter  opened  his  mouth 
and  said,  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no  re- 
specter of  persons :  but  in  every  nation  he  that  fear- 
eth  him  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  with 
him." 

I  Peter  i.  17 :  "  And  if  ye  call  on  the  Father,  who 
without  respect  of  persons  judgeth  according  to 
every  man's  work,  pass  the  time  of  your  sojourning 
here  in  fear." 

Proverbs  xxii.  2 :  ''  The  rich  and  the  poor  meet 
together;  the  Lord  is  the  Maker  of  them  all." 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  m 

Distinctions  in  Islam. 

But  the  religion  of  Muhammad  distinguishes  in 
favor  of  the  rich,  who  can  give  alms  without  hard- 
ship, and  can  hire  substitutes  to  perform  their  re- 
ligious duties;  who  have  leisure  for  prolonged  and 
repeated  prayers  and  pilgrimages,  and  who  can  evade 
the  rigors  of  the  month  of  fasting  by  sleeping 
all  day  and  feasting  all  night,  who  can  become  pro- 
ficient in  reading  the  Arabic  Quran,  and  thus  accu- 
mulate a  store  of  merit.  Thus  the  poor,  from  no 
fault  of  their  own,  suffer  a  disadvantage,  and  as  the 
immense  majority  of  our  race  are  poor,  a  small 
portion  of  it  enjoys  privileges  denied  to  the  remain- 
der. Again,  men  are  preferred  to  women  and 
children,  as  able  to  bear  arms  in  religious  warfare, 
as  possessing  more  strength  for  the  austerities  re- 
quired, and  more  liberty  to  leave  home  for  the  pil- 
grimages. 

Another  distinction  appears  favoring  the  inhab- 
itants of  tropical  regions,  where  day  and  night  are 
nearly  equal  the  year  round  and  the  climate  is  warm. 
As  we  travel  north  or  south  from  the  equator  we  ar- 
rive at  regions  where  in  the  long  and  inclement  win- 
ters the  daily  ablutions,  so  easy  and  refreshing  to 
the  thinly  clothed  inhabitant  of  hot  countries,  become 
a  hardship,  and  even  a  menace  to  health — moreover, 
the  day  lengthening  in  summer  as  one  approaches 
the  poles,  until  at  some  points  it  lasts  two,  three  and 


112  ISLAM    "AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

even  six  months.  Muslims  inhabiting  those  parts 
would  experience  a  difficulty  in  observing  the  yearly 
fast,  falling  as  it  does  in  your  calendar  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year.  When  it  came  in  the  long  dark  winter 
night  the  written  requirement  would  not  oblige  its 
observance  for  a  number  of  years,  but  it  is  difficult 
to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the  first  summer 
Ramadhan  observed  in  all  parts  of  the  world  as  com- 
manded by  the  Prophet,  and  as  we  saw  it  in  Muhani- 
madan  countries,  would  witness  the  extinction  of 
true  believers  in  all  places  situated  in  certain  lati- 
tudes and  involve  severe  hardship  to  many  who,  be- 
ing nearer  the  equator,  might  survive.  Can  you  tell 
me  why  the  equatorial  region  should  be  so  favored 
by  true  religion  at  the  expense  of  the  rest  of  the 
globe?  Is  it  not  strange  that  a  religion  designed  to 
be  universal  should  prescribe  as  one  of  its  chief 
duties  a  fast  which  cannot  be  kept  everywhere  with 
equal  ease,  and  which  in  some  cases  would  even  re- 
quire self-destruction?  I  have  heard  Muslims  meet 
this  difficulty  by  saying,  in  case  of  the  inhabitants 
of  polar  regions  embracing  Islam,  they  would  only 
be  required  to  fast  a  certain  number  of  consecutive 
hours  in  each  twenty-four,  without  regard  to  sunset 
and  sunrise,  till  the  end  of  the  month.  But  this  is 
evidently  not  according  to  the  Quran  or  Muslim 
usage.  See  Sura  IL,  The  Cow,  v.  187:  "  Eat  and 
drink  until  ye  can  plainly  distinguish  a  white  thread 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  113 

from  a  black  thread  by  the  daybreak;  then  keep  the 
fast  until  night." 

Now,  the  former  Scriptures  have  not  yet  been 
found  to  contain  anything  conflicting  with  modern 
geographical  or  scientific  discoveries,  nor  is  any 
feature  found  in  Christianity  incompatible  with  its 
diffusion  over  the  globe,  as  its  simple  rites,  which  in 
themselves  are  not  requisites  of  salvation,  can  be  per- 
formed everywhere.  Its  essential  principles,  con- 
sisting of  love  to  God  and  man,  can  be  practised  at 
all  times  and  places,  under  all  circumstances,  by 
every  one.  I  should  be  glad  to  know  how  a  candid 
Muslim  can  reconcile  these  discrepancies  between 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  and  the  Quran.  Many 
others  exist,  but  these  are  sufficient  for  the  present 
purpose. 

Proofs  in  Favor  of  the  Quran. 

But  does  the  Quran  offer  no  testimony  to  substan- 
tiate its  divine  origin?  Is  it  not,  like  the  former 
revelations,  attested  by  miracles  or  prophecy  ?  Set- 
ting aside  tradition  and  looking  only  at  the  book,  we 
must  reply.  Nothing  of  the  sort  is  found  in  it.  We 
learn  from  many  Suras  that  the  idolaters  of  Mecca 
and  the  Jews  of  Medina  persistently  demanded  that 
the  Prophet  work  some  miracle,  but  it  would  appear 
he  never  complied  with  their  request. 

Sura  XXL,  Surat  ul  Ambaya,  v.  3-9 :  "And  they 
who  act  unjustly,  discourse  privately  together,  say- 


114  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

ing,  Is  this  Muhammad  any  more  than  a  man  like 
yourselves  ?  Will  ye,  therefore,  come  to  hear  a  piece 
of  sorcery,  when  ye  plainly  perceive  it  to  be  so  ?  Say, 
my  Lord  knoweth  whatever  is  spoken  in  heaven  and 
on  earth;  it  is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth. 
But  they  say  the  Quran  is  a  confused  heap  of 
dreams;  nay,  he  hath  forged  it;  nay,  he  is  a  poet; 
let  him  come  unto  us,  therefore,  with  some  miracle, 
in  like  manner  as  the  former  prophets  were  sent. 
None  of  the  cities  which  we  have  destroyed  believed 
the  miracles  which  they  saw  performed  before  them ; 
will  these,  therefore,  believe  if  they  see  a  miracle?" 

Sura  XIIL,  Surat  al  Raad,  v.  38 :  "  No  apostle 
had  the  power  to  come  with  a  sign  unless  by  the  per- 
mission of  God." 

Sura  XXIX.,  Surat  al  Anqubut,  the  Spider,  v. 
49>  50  •  "  They  say.  Unless  a  sign  be  sent  down  to 
him  from  his  Lord,  we  will  not  believe.  Answer, 
signs  are  in  the  power  of  God  alone,  and  I  am  no 
more  than  a  public  preacher.  Is  it  not  sufficient  for 
them  that  we  have  sent  down  unto  thee  the  book  of 
the  Quran,  to  be  read  unto  them  ?  " 

Sura  XVII. ,  Surat  al  Bani  Israil,  Children  of  Is- 
rael, V.  61 :  "  Nothing  hindered  us  from  sending 
thee  with  miracles,  except  that  the  former  nations 
have  charged  them  with  imposture.  We  gave  unto 
the  tribe  of  Thamud,  at  their  demand,  the  she  camel 
visible  to  their  sight;  yet  they  dealt  unjustly  with 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  115 

her ;  and  we  sent  not  a  prophet  with  miracles,  but  to 
strike  terror." 

No  Miracle. 

It  appears,  then,  the  Prophet  could  not  work  mira- 
cles ;  had  he  possessed  the  power  he  would  have  used 
it  to  vindicate  himself  from  the  embarrassing  ac- 
cusations of  the  unbelievers,  which  were  evidently 
keenly  felt  and  deeply  resented.  He  might  not  then 
have  been  obliged  to  resort,  as  he  did,  to  the  sword 
of  his  followers  to  rid  him  of  some  of  the  trouble- 
some tongues  which  clamored  for  a  supernatural  wit- 
ness to  his  claims. 

Nature  of  Muhammad's  Prophecies. 

If  we  inquire  whether  he  possessed  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  we  find  him  making  predictions  of  com- 
ing events,  but,  with  one  exception,  these  relate  to 
the  resurrection  and  the  day  of  judgment.  His  hear- 
ers had  no  means  by  which  to  verify  his  words,  and 
neither  are  we  able  to  judge  of  their  truth  till  the 
actual  arrival  of  the  last  hour.  It  will  then  be  too 
late  to  do  us  any  good,  for,  as  he  repeatedly  informs 
us,  the  doom  of  unbelievers  will  then  be  forever 
sealed.  Of  what  practical  use,  then,  are  his  prophe- 
cies, since  they  furnish  no  convincing  proof  to  the 
inquirer,  and  no  real  evidence  to  sustain  the  faith 
of  the  believer  ?    It  seems  as  if  God  had  lavished  all 


Il6  ISLAM    ^AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

his  gifts  of  miracles  and  prophecy  fulfilled  before  our 
eyes  on  the  prophets  of  the  earlier  dispensations. 
Why  are  they  denied  to  the  Seal  of  the  Prophets, 
whom  we  should  expect  to  find  more  richly  endowed 
than  all  his  predecessors  ? 

The  one  authenticated  instance  of  his  making  a 
prediction  fulfilled  in  his  own  time  is  found  in  Sura 
XXX.,  Surat  ur  Rum,  the  Greeks,  v.  i,  2:  "The 
Greeks  have  been  overcome  by  the  Persians  in  the 
nearest  part  of  the  land;  but  after  their  defeat  they 
shall  overcome  the  others  in  their  turn  within  a  few 
years." 

This  is  a  very  vague  and  elastic  prophecy,  lacking 
wholly  in  details  by  which  to  identify  the  victory 
promised  to  the  Greeks.  It  cannot  be  shown  to  dif- 
fer from  those  conjectures  of  the  course  of  events 
which  are  constantly  made  by  men  who  never  dream 
of  claiming  prophetical  power,  though  their  shrewd 
guesses  are  often  justified  by  the  actual  occurrence. 
Muhammad  does,  indeed,  predict  some  mysterious, 
undescribed,  and  awful  calamity  about  to  overwhelm 
Mecca,  if  they  did  not  accept  him;  this  never  oc- 
curred, and  it  cannot  be  shown  that  it  would  have 
taken  place  had  they  not  submitted  to  him. 

A  Holy  Life. 

One  other  proof  which  the  Lord  Jesus  alone  was 
able  to  present,  a  holy  and  sinless  life,  the  prophet  of 
Islam  cannot  give  us.    Many  of  his  followers  beg  the 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  ny 

question  by  assuming  that  he  could  not  and  did  not 
sin,  and  making  his  actions  their  standard  of  moral- 
ity. The  law  of  God  alone  furnishes  the  rule  by 
which  to  try  every  man  and  see  what  manner  of 
spirit  he  is  of.  In  the  clear  light  of  New  Testament 
ideals  and  commands,  the  character  of  Muhammad 
is  found  sadly  lacking,  and  the  high  pretensions  he 
made  render  his  faults  and  sins  conspicuous,  chal- 
lenging a  criticism  which  he  had  otherwise  failed  to 
provoke. 

The  Quran  a  Miracle. 

The  only  proof  of  his  divine  mission  offered  to 
the  Meccans  was  the  Quran  itself,  its  lofty  style  and 
beautiful  poetry. 

He  repeatedly  says  the  Quran  itself  is  a  miracle, 
and  defies  his  hearers  to  produce  a  similar  writing. 

Sura  XVIL,  Surat  al  Bani  Israil,  Children  of  Is- 
rael, v.  90 :  ''  Say,  Verily  if  men  and  genii  were  pur- 
posely assembled  that  they  might  produce  a  book  like 
this  Quran,  they  could  not  produce  one  like  unto  it, 
although  the  one  of  them  assisted  the  other." 

Sura  IL,  v.  2^^,  24 :  "  If  ye  be  in  doubt  concerning 
that  revelation  which  we  have  sent  down  unto  our 
servant,  produce  a  chapter  like  unto  it,  and  call  upon 
your  witnesses  beside  God,  if  ye  say  truth.  But  if  ye 
do  it  not,  nor  shall  not  be  able  to  do  it,  justly  fear  the 
fire  whose  fuel  is  men  and  stones,  prepared  for  the 
unbelievers." 


Il8  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Sura  VI.,  Sural  al  Anam,  Cattle,  v.  94 :  "  Who 
is  more  wicked  than  he  who  forgeth  a  He  concern- 
ing God  ?  or  saith,  This  was  revealed  unto  me ;  when 
nothing  had  been  revealed  unto  him  ?  and  who  saith, 
I  will  produce  a  revelation  like  unto  that  which  God 
hath  sent  down?  If  thou  didst  see  when  the  ungodly 
are  in  the  pangs  of  death,  and  the  angels  stretch  out 
their  hands,  saying,  Cast  forth  your  souls ;  this  day 
shall  ye  receive  an  ignominious  punishment  for  that 
which  ye  have  falsely  spoken  concerning  God;  and 
because  ye  have  proudly  rejected  his  signs." 

While  on  the  one  hand  they  were  challenged  to 
produce  verses  like  those  of  the  Quran,  on  the  other 
those  who  should  make  the  attempt  were  bitterly 
denounced;  and  it  looks  as  if  the  severe  threats  of 
the  last  passage  were  expressly  calculated  to  deter 
any  who  might  otherwise  try  to  rival  the  Suras. 

This  proof  of  the  apostleship  of  Muhammad  is  ac- 
cepted by  Muslims.  As  we  read  in  the  Hyat  ul  Ku- 
loob :  "  In  order  properly  to  estimate  the  miracu- 
lous merits  of  the  Quran,  it  should  be  considered 
that  when  the  Prophet  arose,  eloquence  of  expression 
and  purity  of  diction  were  much  cultivated,  and 
poetry  and  oratory  were  held  in  the  highest  estima- 
tion. On  this  account  God  made  the  great  miracle 
of  Muhammad  to  consist  in  an  inimitable  style, 
which  is  exhibited  in  the  Quran.  Ulemas  disagree 
whether  the  miracle  of  the  Quran  consists  in  its  be- 
ing the  very  acme  of  eloquence  and  perfection,  or  in 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  ug 

restraint  put  by  the  Most  High  upon  the  intellects 
of  its  opponents.  In  either  case  there  is  an  obvious 
miracle.  The  greatest  proof  that  the  Quran  is  a 
miracle  consists  in  its  effects.  Through  its  influence 
the  Arabs,  who  were  universally  known  to  be  desti- 
tute of  learning  and  politeness,  became  the  envy  of 
the  world  for  those  qualities;  so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  ulemas  from  all  quarters  who  wished  to  ob- 
tain a  finished  education  were  under  the  necessity  of 
applying  to  the  Arabs." 

Test  of  the  True  Scriptures. 

We  have  seen  the  divinely  appointed  test  of  the 
former  Scriptures :  prophecy  fulfilled  in  the  coming 
to  pass  of  events  which  none  but  God  could  foretell, 
and  in  such  a  manner  that  this  proof  should  be  intel- 
ligible, accessible,  cumulative,  and  should  appeal 
more  or  less  to  all  men  in  every  generation  and  re- 
gion of  the  globe. 

Acts  XV.  i8 :  "  Known  unto  God  are  all  his  works 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world." 

Sura  LVIL,  Surat  al  Hadid,  Iron,  v.  3 :  "  He  is 
the  first  and  the  last;  the  manifest  and  the  hidden; 
and  he  knoweth  all  things." 

If  he  intended  to  change  his  first  ordained  test 
of  revealed  truth,  and  to  substitute  for  it  a  lofty  and 
poetical  style  of  revelation,  might  we  not  expect 
some  intimation  of  it  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments 


I20  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

to  aid  sincere  seekers  for  truth  in  identifying  the 
new  prophet  and  the  new  revelation  when  they 
should  appear?  Should  we  not  be  warranted  in 
thinking,  if  God  changed  his  former  proof,  that  he 
would  give  us  something  wonderful  and  unanswer- 
able in  the  way  of  evidence,  something  far  tran- 
scending any  flight  possible  to  the  natural  powers 
of  men?  But  the  evidence  offered,  which  is  rhetor- 
ical, seems  rather  a  descent  from  that  used  to  certify 
the  divine  origin  of  the  Torat  and  In j  eel,  for  while 
only  God  can  inspire  and  fulfil  prophecy,  many  men 
of  genius  can  produce  and  even  improvise  fine  poetry 
and  eloquent  oratory.  Even  unlettered  men  of 
uncivilized  races  have  been  found  possessing  these 
gifts  in  a  high  degree. 

If  this  be  the  final  test  of  divine  inspiration  I  can- 
not understand  why  Muslims  accept  it  in  the  case 
of  Muhammad  as  authenticating  the  Quran,  and 
deny  it  to  Mirza  Ali  Muhammad  of  Shiraz,  com- 
monly known  as  the  Bab,  who  has  in  our  own  cen- 
tury convinced  many  of  his  prophetical  office  by  the 
excellence  and  beauty  of  his  poetical  compositions. 
One  of  his  disciples  thus  writes  :  "  When  I  had  con- 
sidered the  clear  signs  and  proofs  set  before  me,  I 
could  see  no  possible  way  of  rejecting  or  denying 
them.  For  the  merciful  Lord  hath  plainly  said  in 
the  Quran  that,  though  all  genii  and  men  should 
combine  together,  they  could  not  produce  a  sign  like 
unto  it,  and  during  these  twelve  hundred  and  sixty 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  121 

years  which  had  elapsed  since  that  time,  none,  how- 
ever skilled  in  rhetoric  and  eloquence,  had  presumed 
even  to  make  this  attempt.  But  these  verses  were  in- 
comparably superior  to  the  Quran  in  point  of  elo- 
quence and  beauty,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  take 
exception  to  them  or  deny  them.  Nevertheless,  I 
remained  overwhelmed  with  amazement,  wondering 
how  such  verses  could  be  poured  forth  like  copious 
showers  by  this  simple  and  unlettered  youth.  *  O 
God,'  I  cried  in  my  heart,  '  in  face  of  such  ample 
proofs,  how  is  denial  possible?  Yet,  how  can  I  con- 
fess and  accept  this  illiterate  and  uneducated  young 
merchant  as  Bab  and  Kaim?'  "  If  one  should  arise 
able  to  bear  the  test  which  was  propounded  for  the 
Quran,  why  should  he  not  be  accepted  by  those  who 
receive  that  book  as  a  miracle? 

We  have  seen  that  all  men  are  more  or  less  able 
to  weigh  the  evidence  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible. 
But  only  one  nation,  and  that  numerically  a  small 
one,  can  judge  the  literary  merits  of  the  Quran;  and 
not  every  Arab,  but  only  those  whose  taste  and  edu- 
cation fit  them  to  appreciate  the  productions  of  gen- 
ius. This  would  not  matter  so  much  were  the  Qu- 
ran, like  the  Bible,  accessible  to  the  whole  world  by 
translation. 

Translation  of  the  Bible  and  the  Quran. 

The  Scriptures  have  been  rendered  in  their  com- 
plete form  into  one  hundred  and  eight  languages, 


122  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

and  different  portions  into  about  four  hundred  more, 
embracing  all  the  languages  of  Europe,  most  of  those 
of  Asia,  and  a  majority  of  Africa  and  the  rest 
of  the  world.  It  is  estimated  that  in  the  last  hun- 
dred years  about  four  hundred  and  four  million  cop- 
ies have  been  printed  and  distributed.  From  the 
London  office  alone  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bi- 
ble Society  are  daily  sent  out  from  five  to  seven  thou- 
sand copies.  The  style  and  subjects  of  the  Bible  are 
such  that  it  readily  lends  itself  to  translation,  and 
in  each  new  tongue  is  as  charming  and  intelligible 
as  in  the  original. 

But  such  is  far  from  being  true  of  the  Quran, 
whose  peculiar  beauties  are  lost  in  leaving  its  native 
Arabic.  As  is  well  known,  its  followers  seldom 
translate  it,  even  for  their  own  use,  far  less  for  that 
of  non-Muslims;  neither  are  they  encouraged  to  do 
so.  The  translations  into  European  languages  have 
been  made  by  Christians.  If  a  non-Arab  wishes  to 
familiarize  himself  with  the  Quran  he  must  study 
Arabic,  confessed  by  all  to  be  a  very  difficult  lan- 
guage. 

The  result  is  that  the  majority  of  Muslims  are 
unable  to  read  their  sacred  book,  and  compelled  to 
rely  on  the  word  of  a  few  of  their  religious  leaders 
for  their  ideas  of  its  teachings.  It  follows  that 
millions  can  never  hope  to  judge  for  themselves  if 
the  evidence  in  favor  of  it  is  sufficient  to  convince 
or  not.    How,  then,  can  an  unbeliever  be  won  to  a 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  123 

faith  whose  principal  foundation  is  equally  inac- 
cessible and  unintelligible,  and  which  he  is  invited 
to  accept  only  on  the  testimony  of  others  ? 

How  different  from  the  first  proclamation  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ ! 

Acts  ii.  6-1 1  :  ''  Now  when  this  was  noised  abroad, 
the  multitude  came  together,  and  were  confounded, 
because  that  every  man  heard  them  speak  in  his  own 
language.  And  they  v/ere  all  amazed  and  marvelled, 
saying  one  to  another,  Behold,  are  not  all  these  which 
speak  Galileans?  And  how  hear  we  every  man  in 
our  own  tongue,  wherein  we  were  born  ?  Parthians, 
and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Meso- 
potamia, and  in  Judea,  and  Cappadocia,  in  Pontus, 
and  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and 
in  the  parts  of  Libya  about  Gyrene,  and  strangers  of 
Rome,  Jews  and  proselytes,  Cretes  and  Arabians, 
we  do  hear  them  speak  in  our  tongues  the  wonderful 
works  of  God." 

Style  of  the  Quran, 

The  question,  however,  presents  itself,  Is  the  lit- 
erary style  of  the  Quran  inimitable,  are  its  beauties 
so  transcending  praise?  Compared  with  the  literature 
of  its  own  age  and  country,  no  doubt  it  may  surpass 
the  productions  of  former  Arab  poets,  though  even 
that  is  denied  by  some.  But  the  true  comparison  is 
not  with  them  or  with  any  uninspired  production 
of  the  human  intellect.     By  professing  to  continue 


124  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

the  former  revelations  and  to  emanate  from  the  same 
God,  the  Quran  boldly  claims  to  stand  with  the  Bible, 
and  that  alone. 

Those  who  do  not  know  Arabic,  of  course,  can 
have  no  idea  of  the  poetic  merit  of  the  original  Qu- 
ran, but  any  one  can  compare  its  narratives,  moral- 
ity, precepts,  and  parables  with  those  of  the  Bible, 
and  judge  if  they  proceed  from  the  same  author.  To 
mention  only  one  point,  one  is  especially  struck  in 
reading  the  Quran  with  the  wearisome,  seemingly 
purposeless  reiteration  of  the  same  stories  in  almost 
the  same  words. 

The  only  thing  in  the  Bible  in  the  least  resembling 
it  is  found  in  the  three  Synoptic  Gospels  narrating 
the  life  of  our  Lord.  The  reason  for  this  repetition 
is  obvious.  Facts  are  to  be  established,  as  in  a  court 
of  justice,  by  the  evidence  of  several  eye-witnesses, 
and  all  must  be  heard  on  the  same  subject.  Espe- 
cially en  the  subject  of  the  crucifixion  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  must  full  testimony  be  taken.  There- 
fore, we  find  the  four  evangelists  devoting  a  large 
portion  of  their  space  to  this  subject.  But  they  do 
not  copy  each  other ;  each  gives  an  independent  view 
of  the  matter  in  hand.  Each  one  tells  us  something 
unsaid  by  the  others,  so  that,  while  they  do  not  con- 
tradict, they  do  complement  and  fill  out  each  other's 
narrative. 

But  where  only  one  witness  presents  himself,  why 
should  he  repeat  over  and  over  the  same  tale?     It 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  125 

appears  a  sign  of  poverty  of  resource,  and  cannot  be 
counted  other  than  a  Hterary  blemish  in  the  Quran. 

Lack  of  clearness  is  another  fault  of  this  book.  Its 
sayings  are,  indeed,  "  dark  sentences,"  and  need  a 
commentator,  justifying  to  some  extent  the  claim  of 
the  ulemas  that  the  book  is  not  meant  to  be  under- 
stood. 

We  never  v^eary  of  the  Bible,  but  it  is  difficult,  at 
least  for  an  Occidental  reader,  to  rouse  and  sustain 
interest  in  the  Quran  for  one  thorough  consecutive 
perusal.* 

The  personal  concerns  of  the  prophet  and  his 
household  are  accorded  as  great  a  pre-eminence  as 
the  most  exalted  religious  subjects.  It  affords  a 
marked  contrast  with  the  Scriptures,  where  the  glory 
of  an  individual  is  nothing,  and  God  alone  is  exalted. 
An  Oriental  familiar  with  the  Arabic  Quran  was 
asked,  "  Is  it  true  that  the  style  of  that  book  is  so  fas- 
cinating that  it  surpasses  every  other  ?"  He  replied, 
'That  was  my  opinion  till  I  became  familiar  with  the 
Bible;  since  then  the  Quran  has  ceased  to  charm 
me." 

Muhammad  Compared  zvith  Christ. 

As  the  Quran   challenges  comparison   with   the 
Bible  alone,  so  Muhammad  is  not  to  be  measured 
with  his  own  contemporaries,  or  even  the  true  proph- 
ets who  preceded  him,  but  only  mentally,  morally 
*See  note  on  page  217. 


126  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

and  spiritually,  with  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  We  have 
a  right  to  demand  that  the  histories  and  words  and 
characters  of  the  two  men  should  be  placed  side  by 
side.  Muhammad  himself  professed  to  supersede 
Jesus  and  his  dispensation,  as  the  Seal  of  the 
Prophets  and  medium  of  the  last  revelation ;  and  his 
followers  claim  for  him  the  same  offices,  titles  and 
dignities  which  the  Holy  Scriptures  had  before  as- 
signed to  the  Son  of  Mary. 

The  Hyat  ul  Kuloob  says :  ''From  his  birth  to  his 
death  Muhammad  was  free  from  all  sins  great  and 
small,  both  of  design  and  ignorance,  and  from  all 
error.  The  imam  Saduk  relates  that  God  gave  the 
Prophet  five  spirits :  the  spirit  of  life,  by  which  he 
was  endowed  with  motion;  the  spirit  of  power,  by 
which  he  fought  and  performed  the  severest  devo- 
tion ;  the  spirit  of  desire  or  appetite,  by  which  he  ate, 
drank,  etc. ;  the  spirit  of  faith,  by  which  he  com- 
manded or  judged,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  en- 
dowed him  with  the  prophetical  office.  The  same 
imam  declares  that  the  Most  High  gave  Jesus  two 
eminent  names,  by  which  he  raised  the  dead  and  per- 
formed the  miracles  he  did.  On  Moses  four  of  these 
names  were  bestowed,  on  Abraham  eight,  on  Noah 
fifteen,  and  on  Adam  twenty-five.  All  these,  with 
additional  ones,  were  conferred  on  Muhammad. 
Verily  there  are  seventy-three  exalted  divine  names ; 
one  of  them  is  peculiar  to  the  holy  nature  of  the 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  127 

Most  High,  and  is  incommunicable,  but  all  the  rest 
were  bestowed  on  the  Prophet." 

As  we  have  a  right  to  demand  of  this  prophet  that 
his  revelation  should  not  merely  equal,  but  should 
surpass  its  predecessors,  so  we  have  a  right  to  expect 
that  the  Prophet  himself  should  not  simply  attain 
to  the  perfection  of  Jesus,  but  should  go  beyond  it. 
Since  he  challenges  the  supremacy  of  the  founder  of 
Christianity  and  labors  to  supplant  him  in  his  offices 
and  relations  to  God  and  man,  he  must  be  prepared 
to  offer  us  something  far  better  in  doctrine  and  prac- 
tice. 

The  defenders  and  apologists  for  Muhammad 
have  measured  him  with  heathen  Arabs,  and  the 
Quran  with  the  productions  of  Arab  poets.  They 
have  failed  utterly  to  see  where  the  real  comparison 
should  be  made. 

Christ  and  Muhammad  in  Prophecy. 

First  of  all,  we  should  expect  to  find  repeated  and 
explicit  prophecies  of  the  advent  of  Muhammad  in 
the  previous  revelations,  even  such  as  are  found  con- 
cerning our  Lord,  describing  his  race,  tribe,  family, 
place  and  time  of  birth,  the  outlines  of  his  life,  min- 
istry, death,  burial,  and  resurrection.  There  are  sev- 
enty-three distinct  and  specific  prophecies  of  Jesus 
in  the  Old  Testament  whose  verification  is  given  in 
the  New. 


128  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Moreover,  he  was  prefigured  in  the  sacrifices  of 
the  Jewish  ritual,  and  so  foreshadowed  in  the  hves 
of  patriarchs  and  prophets  that  the  Old  Testament 
is  as  full  of  him  in  symbol,  type,  and  prophecy  as 
the  New  in  open  revelation. 

He  is  the  one  subject  of  the  Scriptures;  all  before 
his  advent  stand  with  expectant  faces  turned  toward 
the  coming  Messiah,  all  after  his  birth  direct  retro- 
spective and  anticipative  glances  to  him  who,  hav- 
ing come  once  and  returned  to  his  place,  will  appear 
again  a  second  time  in  glory.  Take  him  from  the 
Bible  and  you  have  removed  the  keystone  from  the 
arch ;  nothing  remains  but  an  incoherent  and  incom- 
prehensible mass  of  ruins. 

If  we  search  for  prophecies  of  Muhammad  in  the 
Bible,  the  Christian  commentator  will  direct  us  to 
the  eighth  chapter  of  Daniel  and  the  ninth  of  Rev- 
elation, where  many  believe  the  rise,  fall,  and  decline 
of  Islam  and  its  agency  as  used  of  God  in  punishing 
the  crimes  of  a  corrupted  and  idolatrous  Christianity 
to  be  plainly  foreshadowed.* 

But  the  Muslim  cannot  be  expected  to  adopt  this 
view.  He  will  present  us,  if  he  be  a  Shiah,  with  the 
promise  to  Abraham  in  Genesis  xvii.  20 :  "  And  as 
for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee:  Behold,  I  have 
blessed  him,  and  wall  make  him  fruitful,  and  will 
multiply  him  exceedingly;  twelve  princes  shall  he 
beget,  and  I  will  make  him  a  great  nation."  He 
*See  note  on  page  218. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  129 

will  tell  us  that  the  twelve  princes  are  the  twelve 
Imams. 

He  fails  to  consult  Genesis  xxv.  13-16,  where  he 
would  readj  ''  And  these  are  the  names  of  the  sons 
of  Ishmael,  by  their  names,  according  to  their  gen- 
erations; the  first  born  of  Ishmael,  Nebajoth,  and 
Kedar,  and  Adbeel,  and  Mibsam,  and  Mishma,  and 
Dumah,  and  Massa,  Hadar,  and  Tema,  Jetur, 
Naphish,  and  Kedemah :  these  are  the  sons  of  Ish- 
mael, and  these  are  their  names,  by  their  towns,  and 
by  their  castles;  twelve  princes  according  to  their 
nations."  This  passage  shows  that  the  prophecy  re- 
ferred to  the  immediate  descendants  of  Ishmael,  and 
was  fulfilled  in  his  own  day;  it  does  not,  therefore, 
relate  to  the  twelve  Imams,  who  lived  long  after- 
ward. 

He  will  perhaps  quote  Habbakuk  iii.  3 :  "  God 
came  from  Teman,  and  the  Holy  One  from  Mount 
Paran,"  assuming  these  localities  to  be  in  Arabia, 
and  applying  the  term  Holy  One  to  Muhammad. 

Teman  and  the  Wilderness  of  Paran. 

But  Teman  is  a  term  used  of  the  Edomites,  the 
inveterate  enemies  of  the  Israelites,  the  children  of 
Esau,  whose  country  lay  southeast  of  the  land  of 
Canaan.  The  wilderness  of  Paran  was  part  of  the 
Sinaitic  peninsula,  at  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea,  lying 
south  of  the  Holy  Land.  Muhammad  certainly  was 
not  an  Edomite,  nor,  so  far  as  I  have  heard,  was  he 


I30  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

ever  in  that  part  of  the  Desert  of  Sinai  known  as 
the  wilderness  of  Paran,  his  home  being  in  Mecca 
and  Medina,  far  to  the  southeast,  and  in  the  great 
Arabian  peninsula.  The  allusion  of  the  Prophet 
seems  to  be  primarily  to  the  invasion  of  Canaan  by 
the  Israelites  and  the  accompanying  miracles,  as 
recorded  in  the  book  of  Joshua.  This  invasion  took 
place  from  the  southwest,  and  the  tribes  had  pre- 
viously been  sojourning  in  the  wilderness  of  Paran. 
But  these  are  not  the  passages  on  which  the  Mus- 
lim most  relies  to  prove  the  prophetical  mission  of 
Muhammad.  He  will  adduce  two  texts,  one  from 
the  Torat,  one  from  the  In j eel. 

Moses'  Prophecy. 

The  first  is  found  in  Deuteronomy  xviii.  15,  where 
Moses,  addressing  the  Israelites,  says :  "  The  Lord 
thy  God  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  from  the 
midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like  unto  me;  unto 
him  shall  ye  hearken." 

We  read  in  Deuteronomy  xxxiv.  10-12,  "  And 
there  arose  not  a  prophet  since  in  Israel  like  unto 
Moses,  whom  the  Lord  saw  face  to  face.  In  all  the 
signs  and  the  wonders  which  the  Lord  sent  him  to  do 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  to  Pharaoh,  and  to  all  his  ser- 
vants, and  to  all  his  land;  and  in  all  that  mighty 
hand,  and  in  all  the  great  terror  which  Moses  showed 
in  the  sight  of  all  Israel." 

The  conditions  attaching  to  this  prophet  are  not 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  131 

met  by  Muhammad,  who  was  not  raised  up  from  the 
children  of  Israel,  but  from  the  Arab  nation.  His 
inspiration  was  not  of  the  same  nature  with  that  of 
Moses,  since  he  never  professed  to  receive  direct 
communications  from  the  Most  High,  speaking  with 
him  '*  face  to  face,"  but  always  through  the  medium 
of  the  angel  Gabriel.  Also,  he  performed  no 
miracles,  or  mighty  w^orks,  as  Moses  did. 

Jesus  Christ  does  fulfil  the  requirements  of  this 
prophecy,  being  of  Israelite  lineage,  communicating 
directly  with  God,  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit, 
so  that  Muslims  themselves  call  him  Ruh  Ullah,  or 
the  Spirit  of  God.  How  can  we  imagine  a  more 
complete  identification  of  one  person  with  another 
than  is  conveyed  in  this  title,  or  a  higher  form  of  in- 
spiration? Christ  also  performed  many  wonderful 
miracles,  so  that  Muslims  also  agree  in  according 
him  pre-eminence  in  this  line.  He  testified  of  him- 
self, Luke  X.  22 :  "  All  things  are  delivered  to  me  of 
my  Father,  and  no  man  knoweth  who  the  Son  is  but 
the  Father ;  and  who  the  Father  is,  but  the  Son,  and 
he  to  whom  the  Son  will  reveal  him." 

We  conclude,  then,  that  we  do  rightly,  as  his 
apostles  did  in  their  public  preaching,  in  applying 
this  prophecy  to  him. 

Let  us  quote  the  Quran  with  regard  to  the  proph- 
ecies which  Muhammad  supposed  the  Bible  to  con- 
tain as  authenticating  his  own  mission. 

Sura  VII.,  Al  Araf,  Purgatory,  v.  156-158:  "I 


132  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

will  write  down  good  unto  those  who  shall  fear  me 
and  give  alms  and  who  shall  believe  in  our  signs; 
who  shall  follow  the  apostle,  the  illiterate  prophet, 
whom  they  shall  find  written  down  with  them  in  the 
law  and  the  gospel."  Sura  LXL,  Surat  al  Saf,  Battle 
Array,  v.  6 :  "  And  when  Jesus  the  Son  of  Mary 
said,  O  children  of  Israel,  verily  I  am  the  apostle  of 
God  sent  unto  you,  confirming  the  law  which  was 
delivered  before  me,  and  bringing  good  tidings  of  an 
apostle  which  shall  come  after  me,  and  whose  name 
shall  be  Ahmad." 

Texts  Relating  to  the  Comforter. 

This  latter  passage  is  nowhere  found  in  the  New 
Testament,  but  the  ulemas  apply  it  to  John  xiv.  i6, 
17,  26;  XV.  26,  and  xvi.  7:  "And  I  will  pray  the 
Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter, 
that  he  may  abide  with  you  for  ever ;  even  the  Spirit 
of  truth ;  whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it 
seeth  him  not,  neither  knoweth  him:  but  ye  know 
him ;  for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you." 

"  But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost, 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall 
teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  re- 
membrance, whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you." 

"  But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,  whom  I  will 
send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  he  shall 
testify  of  me." 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  133 

"  Nevertheless,  I  tell  you  the  truth.  It  is  expedient 
for  you  that  I  go  away;  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the 
Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you ;  but  if  I  depart,  I 
will  send  him  unto  you." 

Acts  i.  5-8 :  "Ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  not  many  days  hence.  But  ye  shall  receive 
power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you, 
and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  both  in  Jerusalem 
and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth." 

We  read  in  the  second  chapter  of  Acts  that  ten 
days  after  Christ  spoke  these  words  his  disciples  re- 
ceived his  promised  gift,  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  began 
witnessing  of  him,  as  commanded.  It  is  evident 
these  texts  cannot  refer  to  Muhammad,  who  did  not 
begin  to  preach  till  a.d.  606,  nearly  575  years  later. 

The  Lord  Jesus  says  of  the  Comforter,  John 
xvi.  8,  9 :  "  And  when  he  is  come,  he  will  reprove 
the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment :  Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  me. — How- 
beit,  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  Truth  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth:  for  he  shall  not 
speak  of  himself ;  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that 
shall  he  speak :  and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come. 
He  shall  glorify  me;  for  he  shall  receive  of  mine 
and  shall  show  it  unto  you." 

A  very  superficial  study  of  the  Quran  shows  that 
Muhammad  did  not  glorify  Jesus,  or  bring  to  re- 
membrance the  things  which  he  had  said,  neither 


134  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY, 

did  he  convince  the  world  of  sin  because  of  their  un- 
behef  in  Christ,  while  of  no  man  can  it  be  more 
emphatically  said  that  he  did  speak  of  and  glorify 
himself. 

In  Scott's  Commentary  on  Revelation,  chapter  ix., 
he  says : 

"  Early  in  the  seventh  century  (about  a.d.  606- 
608)  Muhammad  began  to  aver  a  very  extraordi- 
nary intercourse  with  God,  declaring  that  the  angel 
Gabriel  was  frequently  sent  to  him  to  teach  a  re- 
ligion which  he  was  to  propagate  in  the  world,  being 
an  improvement  and  a  perfecting  of  the  religion 
of  Moses  and  of  Jesus  as  at  first  delivered,  and  a 
reformation  of  them  from  subsequent  perversions 
and  corruptions.  He  pretended  that  he  had  been 
predicted  in  the  books  of  Moses,  but  that  the  Jews 
had  expunged  these  predictions.  He  also  declared 
that  Jesus  had  foretold  his  coming,  under  the  name 
of  Ahmad,  which  signifies  very  ilhistrioiis,  and  is 
nearly  allied  to  T^.Iuhammad.  (It  is  supposed  that 
he  mistook  IIap%H\r]Toi,  comforter,  for  nepiKkvro^^ 
very  ilhistrioiis.'' 

"  If  in  the  days  of  Muhammad  there  existed  an 
Arabic  manuscript  of  the  Gospel  in  which  the  term 
Paraclete,  or  Comforter,  was  rendered  by  Ahmad 
(a  supposition  which  has  never  been  proved),  this 
would  have  been  a  wrong  translation,  as  the  Greek 
term  Comforter  is  derived  from  a  verb  signifying 
to  call  upon  some  one,  to  induce  him  to  come  and 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  135 

bring  help,  or  to  cause  him  to  leave  off  anxiety  and 
be  of  good  cheer,  and  consequently  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  Arabic  root  hameda,  or  hanimada, 
to  praise." — Food  for  Reflection,  p.  41. 

We  find  nowhere  in  the  teachings  of  our  Saviour 
any  intimation  of  a  prophet  and  dispensation  to  suc- 
ceed and  supersede  him;  on  the  contrary,  he  every- 
where gives  us  to  understand  that  his  mission  is 
final  and  his  kingdom  continues  forever. 

You  will  readily  see  what  a  very  unsatisfactory 
basis  is  offered  by  the  above  proof  texts  on  which 
to  support  the  immense  claims  of  Islam. 

Christ's  Prophecies. 

One  reason  why  we  accept  the  Lord  Jesus  as  a 
messenger  from  God  is  found  in  the  many  proph- 
ecies uttered  by  him,  showing  his  acquaintance  with 
the  divine  purposes  and  plans.  Some  of  these  were 
fulfilled  in  his  own  time,  as  those  in  which  he  mi- 
nutely described  the  time,  place,  and  circumstances 
of  his  own  betrayal,  arrest,  condemnation,  crucifix- 
ion, burial,  resurrection,  and  ascension;  others  came 
to  pass  soon  after  his  return  to  heaven,  as  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  witnessing,  persecution,  and  mar- 
tyrdom of  his  followers,  diffusion  of  his  Gospel 
through  the  world.  Others  are  still  fulfilling,  as  the 
preaching  to  the  heathen  and  their  acceptance  of 
him,  the  contumacy,  dispersion,  and  preservation  of 


136  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

the  Jews  as  a  nation,  while  they  are  trodden  under 
foot  of  the  Gentiles  till  his  second  coming. 

Nor  were  these  predictions  vague  and  general; 
they  impress  us  as  the  utterances  of  one  who  knows 
the  future  thoroughly,  and  is  empowered  not  only 
to  foretell,  but  to  execute. 

Take  one  instance:  At  a  village  feast  he  is 
anointed  by  an  obscure  Jewish  woman.  When  she 
is  accused  of  wasteful  extravagance,  he  justifies  her 
and  promises  her  a  strange  and  improbable  re- 
ward: Matthew  xxvi.  13:  "Verily  I  say  unto  you. 
Wheresoever  this  gospel  shall  be  preached  in  the 
whole  world,  there  shall  also  this,  that  this  woman 
hath  done,  be  told  for  a  memorial  of  her." 

Truly,  to-day,  wherever  the  Bible  speaks,  in  five 
hundred  languages,  Mary  of  Bethany  is  remembered, 
and  the  world,  like  the  village  home,  is  filled  with  the 
fragrance  of  her  sweet  service  of  love. 

A  prominent  feature  of  the  Mosaic  law  is  the 
bloody  sacrifice.  And  not  alone  in  that  system  is  it 
presented  to  us ;  it  is  an  element  of  our  daily  life,  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  human  race  violently  destroy 
the  lives  of  the  animal  creation  to  preserve  their 
own.  How  much  blood  is  shed,  and  how  many  inno- 
cent creatures  suffer  the  loss  of  life,  that  man  may 
continue  to  exist!  Custom  has  made  this  so  famil- 
iar, so  much  a  matter  of  course,  that  we  seldom  stop 
to  wonder  at  or  even  consider  it. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  137 

But  how  strange  and  significant  is  this  act,  espe- 
cially when  introduced  into  religious  worship ! 

Hebrews  ix.  22  expressly  tells  us,  "  Without 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission,"  or  forgive- 
ness of  sin. 

In  the  rites  of  sacrifice  we  behold  a  sinner  con- 
fessing his  guilt,  and  by  faith  transferring  it  to  an 
innocent  victim,  which  must  suffer  a  violent  and  un- 
timely death.  Its  blood  is  offered  to  God,  its  flesh 
is  partaken  of  by  the  offerer,  who,  living  and  in 
peace,  prolongs  his  existence,  nourished  by  the  food 
derived  from  his  substitute.  We  meet  with  this  cus- 
tom, not  only  among  the  Jews,  but  in  most  of  the 
religions,  and  amongst  a  large  proportion  of  the 
human  race. 

A  pure  Christianity  stands  almost  alone  in  re- 
quiring of  its  followers  no  such  offering;  not  at  all 
that  its  underlying  idea  is  rejected,  but  because  it 
has  been,  once  for  all,  fulfilled,  and  needs  nevermore 
to  be  repeated.  So  deeply  rooted  in  the  minds  of  our 
race  has  been  the  necessity  of  a  blood  atonement 
for  sin,  and  so  strong  the  persuasion  that  ani- 
mal sacrifices  were  inadequate  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  divine  justice,  that  men  have  been  led  to  offer 
human  beings,  often  their  own  children,  to  avert 
the  wrath  and  propitiate  the  favor  of  God. 


138  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Sacrifice  in  the  Old  Testament. 

On  no  point  does  the  Old  Testament  more 
strongly  insist  than  on  the  worthlessness  of  animal 
sacrifices  in  themselves  to  secure  forgiveness ;  and  it 
is  just  as  strong  in  repudiating  with  horror  the  aw- 
ful crime  of  human  sacrifice. 

Why,  then,  did  the  Jewish  altar  of  burnt  offering 
present  the  continual  spectacle  of  a  spotless  lamb, 
— ever  consumed,  daily  renewed — deeply  impressed 
on  the  mind  of  Israel  by  the  thin  thread  of  smoke 
perpetually  ascending  heavenward  from  the  temple 
court?  What  would  God  teach  his  people  by  that 
object  lesson,  and  the  rites  so  nearly  akin  to  it — of 
the  yearly  passover,  when  every  son  of  Israel  must 
partake  of  the  Paschal  lamb  or  become  an  outcast 
from  the  nation,  and  an  alien  from  the  covenant 
made  with  his  fathers  ? 

The  Christian,  standing  with  John  the  Baptist  on 
the  banks  of  the  river  Jordan  and  hearing  him  say, 
as  he  points  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world," 
has  no  trouble  in  answering  this  question.  He  re- 
plies in  the  words  of  Isaiah  liii.  4-12:  "  Surely  he 
hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows ;  yet 
we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and 
afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressions, he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities ;  the  chas- 
tisement of  our  peace  was  upon  him;  and  with  his 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  139 

Stripes  we  are  nealed.  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone 
astray;  we  have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way; 
and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all. 
He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflicted,  yet  he  opened 
not  his  mouth;  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb, 
so  he  openeth  not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken  from 
prison  and  from  judgment;  and  who  shall  declare 
his  generation?  for  he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land 
of  the  living;  for  the  transgression  of  my  people 
was  he  stricken.  And  he  made  his  grave  with  the 
wicked  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death;  because  he 
had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in  his 
mouth.  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him;  he 
hath  put  him  to  grief;  when  thou  shalt  make  his 
soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall 
prolong  his  days,  and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord 
shall  prosper  in  his  hand.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied ;  by  his  knowledge 
shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many ;  for  he  shall 
bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a 
portion  with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil 
with  the  strong ;  because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death;  and  he  was  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors ;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made  in- 
tercession for  the  transgressors." 

If  we  seek  still  further  to  identify  this  Lamb  of 
God,  the  New  Testament  answers  in  clear  tones. 
Hebrews  ix.  28 :  "  So  Christ  was  once  offered  to 


I40  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

bear  the  sins  of  many;  and  unto  them  that  look  for 
him  shall  he  appear  the  second  time  without  sin  unto 
salvation." 

I  Peter  ii.  24 :  "  Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins 
in  his  own  body  on  the  tree,  that  ye,  being  dead  to 
sins,  should  live  unto  righteousness ;  by  whose  stripes 
ye  were  healed." 

Luke  xxiv.  25-27 :  "  Then  he  said  unto  them,  O 
fools,  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  proph- 
ets have  spoken.  Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered 
these  things  and  to  enter  into  his  glory?  And  be- 
ginning at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  expounded 
unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning 
himself." 

Revelation  v.  8-10:  "  And  when  he  had  taken  the 
book,  the  four  beasts  and  four  and  twenty  elders  fell 
down  before  the  Lamb,  having  every  one  of  them 
harps,  and  golden  vials  full  of  odors,  which  are  the 
prayers  of  saints.  And  they  sung  a  new  song,  say- 
ing, Thou  art  worthy  to  take  the  book,  and  to  open 
the  seals  thereof;  for  thou  wast  slain,  and  hast  re- 
deemed us  to  God  by  thy  blood  out  of  every  kindred, 
and  tongue,  and  people,  and  nation.  And  hast  made 
us  unto  our  God  kings  and  priests ;  and  we  shall  reign 
on  the  earth." 

But  when  we  consult  the  Quran  for  an  explana- 
tion of  the  mysterious  rites  of  sacrifice,  like  to  that 
we  find  in  the  former  writings,  or  superior  to  it,  we 
find  only  the  following  to  justify  the  present  yearly 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  141 

sacrifices  of  Islam,  offered  on  the  day  known  as  the 
Courban  Beiram. 

Courban  Beiram. 

Sura  XXIL,  Surat  al  Hajj,  the  Pilgrimage,  v.  36- 
39 :  "  Unto  the  professors  of  every  religion  have  we 
appointed  certain  rites,  that  they  may  commemo- 
rate the  name  of  God  on  slaying  the  brute  cattle 
which  he  hath  provided  for  them.  Your  God  is  one 
God,  wherefore  resign  yourselves  wholly  unto  him. 
And  do  thou  bear  good  tidings  unto  those  who  hum- 
ble themselves ;  whose  hearts,  when  mention  is  made 
of  God,  are  struck  with  fear;  and  unto  those  who 
patiently  endure  that  which  befalleth  them ;  and  who 
duly  perform  their  prayers  and  give  alms  out  of  what 
we  have  bestowed  upon  them.  The  camels  slain 
for  sacrifice  have  we  appointed  for  you  as  symbols 
of  your  obedience  unto  God ;  ye  also  receive  other  ad- 
vantages from  them.  Wherefore,  commemorate  the 
name  of  God  over  them  when  ye  slay  them,  standing 
on  their  feet,  disposed  in  right  order ;  and  when  they 
are  fallen  down  dead,  eat  of  them  and  give  to  eat 
thereof  both  unto  him  who  is  content  with  what  is 
given  him  without  asking  and  to  him  who  asketh. 
Thus  have  we  given  you  dominion  over  them,  that 
ye  might  return  us  thanks.  Their  flesh  is  not  ac- 
cepted of  God,  neither  their  blood,  but  your  piety  is 
accepted  of  him.    Thus  have  we  given  you  dominion 


142  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

over  them  that  ye  might  magnify  God  for  the  revela- 
tion whereby  he  hath  directed  you." 

This  answer  of  Muhammad  is  about  as  satisfac- 
tory as  one  received  from  a  Jewish  Rabbi  who  was 
asked  to  explain  the  institution  of  sacrifice,  and  who 
replied :  "  God  gave  it  to  remind  man  that  he,  too, 
was  mortal,  and  must  die  some  day." 

Witnesses  to  Christ, 

Let  us  for  a  few  moments  imagine  ourselves  in  a 
court  of  justice.  The  witnesses  on  either  side  are 
waiting  and  ready  to  testify.  We  will  first  hear  those 
who  appear  in  behalf  of  the  claim  made  by  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  to  be  the  Messiah  of  God.  We  will  not  yet 
call  him  to  testify  in  his  own  behalf,  but  will  notice 
that  in  the  history  recorded  by  John  in  the  fifth  chap- 
ter of  his  Gospel  the  Jews  asked  our  Lord  for  proofs 
of  his  mission,  as  they  had  every  right  to  do,  and  to 
expect  a  full  and  satisfactory  answer.  This  they 
received  from  him;  he  referred  them  first  to  the 
testimony  of  John  the  Baptist,  secondly  to  his  own 
miraculous  works,  thirdly  to  the  witness  of  the 
Father,  fourthly  to  their  own  sacred  Scriptures.  He 
is  found  perfectly  ready  to  show  his  credentials  to 
all  who  inquire.  He  recognizes  the  principle  that  a 
man's  unsupported  testimony  in  his  own  behalf  is 
one  of  the  lowest  and  least  satisfactory  grades  of 
evidence,  especially  when  the  most  momentous  is- 
sues depend  upon  it.     The  greater  the  claim  made. 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  143 

the  greater  is  the  temptation  offered  to  a  man  to  tes- 
tify falsely.    Therefore,  he  says : 

John  V.  31 :  ''  If  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  wit- 
ness is  not  true." 

In  John  vii.  16-18  he  calls  attention  to  the  char- 
acter of  his  teaching  as  an  evidence  of  his  having 
come  from  God,  and  proposes  a  test  by  which  indi- 
viduals may  assure  themselves  of  its  divine  origin, 
which  is  just  as  valuable  now  as  it  was  then,  the  test 
of  personal,  practical  experience.  "  Jesus  answered 
them  and  said.  My  doctrine  is  not  mine,  but  his 
that  sent  me.  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall 
know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God,  or 
whether  I  speak  of  myself.  He  that  speaketh  of 
himself  seeketh  his  own  glory;  but  he  that  seeketh 
his  glory  w'hich  sent  him,  the  same  is  true,  and  no 
unrighteousness  in  him." 

The  test  of  a  true  messenger  must  ever  be  that  he 
seeks  not  his  own  will  or  his  own  glory,  but  the  will 
and  the  glory  of  him  that  sent  him. 

In  John  viii.  13,  14:  "The  Pharisees  therefore 
said  unto  him,  Thou  bearest  record  of  thyself;  thy 
record  is  not  true.  Jesus  answered  and  said,  Though 
I  bear  record  of  myself,  yet  my  record  is  true, 
for  I  know  whence  I  came  and  whither  I  go ;  but  ye 
cannot  tell  whence  I  come  or  whither  I  go." 

The  Pharisees  knew  from  prophecy  that  Christ 
must  be  born  of  the  royal  family  of  David  in  the 
town  of  Bethlehem,  and  that  certain  predictions  must 


144  'ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

be  fulfilled  in  him.  They  never,  however,  took  the 
pains  to  inquire  of  himself  as  to  his  origin,  his 
aims,  and  purposes.  They  prejudged  his  case,  as- 
suming that  a  Galilean  of  Nazareth  could  not  pos- 
sibly be  the  prince  born  in  Bethlehem.  Theirs  was 
wilful  ignorance,  for  Christ  was  ever  ready  to  give 
them  the  proofs  of  his  Messiahship. 

Personal  Character  of  Muhammad. 

If  we  may  trust  history,  the  chief  reason  for  the 
faith  of  the  earlier  followers  of  Muhammad  was 
their  confidence  in  his  personal  character  as  a  man 
of  probity  and  veracity.  In  the  earlier  stages  of  his 
assumption  of  the  prophetic  office  he  had  some 
doubts  as  to  his  inspiration,  fearing  he  might  be  de- 
ceived by  an  evil  spirit.  Expressing  himself  thus 
to  his  wife,  Khadijah,  she  refused  to  believe  that 
one  upright,  kind,  and  truthful  as  he  could  be  de- 
luded or  led  astray.  Her  implicit  faith  in  him 
greatly  encouraged  and  confirmed  him  in  his  career. 
She,  however,  only  received  testimony  at  second 
hand,  from  her  husband,  being  herself  favored  with 
no  such  divine  revelations  as  were  vouchsafed  to 
the  friends  of  our  Lord,  his  mother,  her  husband, 
and  their  relatives,  Zacharias  and  Elizabeth. 

All  the  early  Muslims  appear  to  have  been  in  the 
same  position  as  Khadijah,  accepting  the  testimony 
of  the  prophet  because  they  believed  him  incapable 
of  deceiving  them. 


ISLAM     AND     CHRISTIANITY.  145 

If  the  vast  fabric  of  Islam  is  built  on  the  witness 
of  its  prophet,  buttressed  by  the  confidence  of  friends 
in  his  perfect  veracity,  can  you  refuse  to  accept  the 
word  of  Jesus,  strengthened  by  a  sinless  character, 
w^hen  he  comes  to  speak  to  us  of  his  claims  to  be 
the  Christ  of  God  ? 

But  for  the  present  we  will  waive  his  testimony, 
as  also  that  of  his  mother  and  immediate  relatives. 
Though  the  Quran  describes  them  as  persons  of  un- 
doubted piety  and  honor,  and  no  doubt  as  credible 
as  the  wives,  fathers-in-law,  and  sons-in-law  of  Mu- 
hammad, yet  the  objection  might  be  brought  that 
for  a  man's  near  relatives  to  testify  is  much  like  his 
own  doing  so.  Family  pride  and  affection,  the  hope 
of  reflected  glory  and  honor,  might  warp  their  rec- 
ollection and  judgment  of  facts  and  render  them 
too  partial  witnesses. 

There  is  another  class  of  witnesses  who  offered 
to  testify  to  the  Messiah,  but  whom  we  reject,  as  he 
himself  did.  When  brought  into  contact  with  those 
possessed  of  demons,  the  evil  spirits  frequently  ad- 
dressed him  as  the  Holy  One,  the  Christ  of  God, 
recognizing  his  authority  and  deprecating  his 
judg-ments.  Matthew  viii.  29 :  ''  And  behold,  they 
cried  out,  saying.  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee, 
Jesus,  thou  Son  of  God?  Art  thou  come  hither  to 
torment  us  before  the  time?" 

In  such  cases,  casting  them  out,  "  he  suffered  not 
the  devils  to  speak,  because  they  knew  him."     His 


1^6  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

reason  for  this  may  have  been  that,  while  fulfilling 
the  whole  duty  of  a  servant  of  God  as  our  substitute 
and  righteousness,  he  was  subject  to  all  the  require- 
ments of  the  divine  law.  This  law  strictly  forbids 
any  dealings  with  demons,  or  with  the  spirits  of  the 
dead,  whom  we  are  not  permitted  to  invoke,  and  with 
whom  we  may  not  establish  any  intercourse.  Such 
relations  with  the  unseen  spiritual  world  are  inter- 
dicted, as  misleading,  dangerous,  and  destructive. 

Evil  Spirits  in  the  Quran. 

The  unhappy  state  of  lost  angels  and  men  appears 
to  be  fixed,  and  we  do  not  learn  of  any  prospect  of 
their  repentance  and  salvation.  Their  terror  of 
Christ  and  hostility  to  his  presence  seem  to  show 
the  hopelessness  of  their  state,  and  their  obstinate 
impenitence.  Christ's  treatment  of  them  does  not 
agree  with  the  teaching  of  the  Quran. 

Sura  XLVL,  Surat  al  Ahqaf,  the  Sand  Hills,  v. 
28-30 :  "  Remember  when  we  caused  certain  of  the 
genii  to  turn  aside  unto  thee,  that  they  might  hear 
the  Quran ;  and  when  they  were  present  at  the  read- 
ing of  the  same  they  said  to  one  another.  Give  ear; 
and  when  it  was  ended  they  returned  back  unto  their 
people,  preaching  what  they  had  heard.  They  said, 
Our  people,  verily  we  have  heard  a  book  read  unto 
us,  which  hath  been  revealed  since  Moses,  confirm- 
ing the  Scripture  which  was  delivered  before  it,  and 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  14; 

directing  unto  the  truth  and  the  right  way.  Our 
people,  obey  God's  preacher,  and  beheve  in  him,  that 
he  may  forgive  you  your  sins,  and  may  deHver  you 
from  a  painful  punishment." 

This  appears  to  conflict  with  Jude  6 :  "  And  the 
angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left  their 
own  habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting 
chains,  under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the 
great  day." 

Witnesses  for  Christ. 

Let  us  listen,  then,  to  the  evidence  of  disinterested 
witnesses  who  had  nothing  earthly  to  gain  by  their 
testimony. 

On  the  night  of  the  birth  of  Jesus,  a  company  of 
shepherds  were  watching  their  flocks  in  the  fields  of 
Bethlehem.  To  them  appeared  an  angel  with  a  great 
light,  saying,  ''  Fear  not :  for  behold  I  bring  you 
good  tidings  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all  peo- 
ple. For  unto  you  is  born  this  day  in  the  city  of 
David  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord.  And  this 
shall  be  a  sign  unto  you:  ye  shall  find  the  babe 
wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  lying  in  a  manger." 
And  suddenly  there  was  with  the  angel  a  multitude 
of  the  heavenly  host,  praising  God,  and  saying, 
"  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth  peace, 
good  will  toward  men."  The  shepherds  left  their 
flocks,  hastened  to  the  village  and  found  all,  even 
as  the  angels  had  said.     ''  And  when  they  had  seen 


148  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

it,  they  made  known  abroad  the  saying  which  was 
told  them  concerning  the  child." 

When  the  infant  was  forty  days  old,  Joseph  and 
Mary  took  him  to  the  Temple,  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  of  the  law.  An  aged  prophet,  Simeon, 
of  whom  the  Gospel  says  ''  he  was  just  and  devout," 
coming  in,  as  he  said,  by  command  of  God,  took 
the  child  in  his  arms,  blessing  God  and  saying, 
"  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
according  to  thy  Word:  for  mine  eyes  have  seen 
thy  salvation,  which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the 
face  of  all  people — a  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles, 
and  the  glory  of  thy  people  Israel." 

He  told  them  God  had  promised  him  he  should 
not  die  without  seeing  the  Messiah. 

At  the  same  moment  a  venerable  prophetess 
entered,  over  a  hundred  years  of  age,  who  "  served 
God  with  fastings  and  prayers  night  and  day."  She 
also  gave  thanks  unto  the  Lord  "  and  spoke  of  him 
to  all  them  that  looked  for  redemption  in  Jerusa- 
lem." 

These  were  all  pious  Jews,  but  witnesses  appear 
from  without  the  chosen  race  and  the  Holy  Land. 
Some  weeks  or  months  later  Jerusalem  was  aston- 
ished by  the  arrival  of  persons  described  as  Wise 
Men  of  the  East,  supposed  by  most  to  have  been 
magi  or  priests  from  Babylonia  or  Persia.  Of  Gen- 
tile birth,  their  rank,  wealth,  and  credentials  pro- 
cured them  an  interview  with  the  old  king  Herod 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  149 

the  Great,  then  in  infirm  health  and  not  far  from 
death.  The  errand  on  which  they  came  deeply  inter- 
ested the  monarch,  who  hastened  to  procure  the  in- 
formation they  desired.  They  said,  from  observation 
of  the  heavens  and  especially  from  the  appearance  of 
a  remarkable  star,  they  understood  the  Messiah  or 
King  of  the  Jews  was  born,  and  had  come  to  wor- 
ship him.  Herod  assembled  a  number  of  the  re- 
ligious heads  of  the  nation,  who  consulted  the  proph- 
ecies and  informed  the  strangers  that  Christ  must  be 
born  in  Bethlehem.  The  travellers  repaired  thither, 
rejoiced  by  the  reappearance  of  the  star  they  had 
seen  in  the  East,  found  the  child,  and  worshipped 
him,  telling  their  story  and  presenting  gifts  of  gold, 
frankincense  and  myrrh.  They  then  returned  to 
their  homes,  the  speed  and  secrecy  of  their  move- 
ments completely  baffling  the  king,  who  hoped  by 
their  means  to  identify  and  destroy  a  probable  rival. 
They  appear  this  once  on  the  sacred  page,  brilliant 
representatives  of  the  Gentiles  to  whom  the  Lord 
Jesus  was  to  bring  light  and  salvation,  move  across 
the  scene,  laying  their  homage  and  gifts  at  the  feet 
of  the  lovvly  infant,  and  disappear  into  the  obscurity 
from  which  they  emerged. 

Traditions  of  the  Birth  of  Muhammad. 

Tradition  indeed  gives  us  wonderful  stories  of  the 
am.azing  signs  which  attended  the  birth  and  child- 
hood of  Muhammad,  written  in  the  most  extrava- 


I50  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

gant  style.  What  a  contrast  they  present  to  the 
calm,  reserved,  historical  simplicity  of  the  Gospel 
record !  We  find  nothing  of  the  kind  in  the  Quran, 
and  it  seems  strange,  if  all  this  mass  of  evidence 
existed,  and  was  known  as  it  must  have  been  to  his 
family  and  himself,  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  make 
use  of  it  to  confound  his  enemies  when  they  required 
proof  of  his  mission. 

Inspiration  of  the  Gospels. 

The  student  of  Islam  cannot  but  be  struck  with 
the  very  great  weight  attached  to  Muslim  tradition, 
while  the  Gospels  are  discredited  as  being  only  tra- 
dition, and  uninspired  writings  of  the  apostles. 

This  view  is  not  supported  by  Muhammad,  who 
repeatedly  classes  the  In j  eel  with  the  Torat  and  the 
Quran  as  given  by  God.  As  we  have  positive  proof 
that  our  New  Testament  is  identical  with  that  of  his 
day,  it  would  seem  his  followers  must  on  his  word 
receive  the  Gospels  as  of  equal  authority  with  his 
own  revelation. 

When  our  Lord,  at  the  age  of  thirty,  was  about  to 
enter  on  his  public  ministry,  he  repaired  to  the  Jor- 
dan River  and  received  baptism  at  the  hands  of 
John,  who  both  then  and  afterward  clearly  testified 
to  his  character  and  mission. 

This  man,  whose  birth  had  been  announced  by  an 
angel  to  his  aged  father,  had  been  designated  by  the 
angel  as  the  herald  of  the  Messiah. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  151 

He  himself  was  the  subject  of  prophecy,  uttered 
hundreds  of  years  before  his  birth,  Isaiah,  xl.  3: 
"  The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness.  Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the 
desert  a  highway  for  our  God."  The  last  words  of 
the  Old  Testament  speak  of  a  prophet  to  precede  the 
Christ,  Malachi  iii.  i :  "  Behold,  I  will  send  my  mes- 
senger, and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me ;  and 
the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his 
temple,  even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant,  whom 
ye  delight  in;  behold,  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts."  Malachi,  iv.  5  :  "  Behold,  I  will  send  you 
Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of  the  great 
and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord." 

The  Jews  were  now  looking  for  their  Messiah,  as 
from  the  prophets  and  especially  the  Book  of  Daniel, 
it  appeared  his  time  was  at  hand.  They  were  eagerly 
watching  for  the  forerunner  who  must  precede  and 
announce  him.  Much  attention  had  been  excited  by 
the  strange  and  supernatural  occurrences  attending 
the  birth  of  John,  the  son  of  Zacharias  and  Eliza- 
beth, who  was  said  to  be  the  long-expected  herald 
of  the  Messiah. 

When  John  was  thirty  years  of  age  he  received  a 
divine  call  to  leave  his  desert  home,  and  to  preach 
the  coming  of  the  promised  King,  but  himself  tells 
us  he  did  not  know  whom  he  would  announce,  al- 
though God  gave  him  a  secret  sign  by  which  to  rec- 
02:nize  the  Messiah  when  he  should  meet  him.     He 


152  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY, 

went  forth  preaching  repentance  and  reformation  as 
necessary  conditions  of  citizenship  in  the  new  king- 
dom, and  announcing  the  long-expected  Christ  as  at 
hand.  Himself  a  man  of  austere  life  and  severe 
integrity,  who  preferred  death  to  flattering  or  com- 
promising with  even  royal  vice,  he  was  not  likely  to 
be  bribed  or  persuaded  to  give  false  witness  to  Jesus. 
Had  he  been  susceptible  to  the  charms  of  earthly 
gain,  it  formed  no  part  of  the  plan  of  the  carpenter 
of  Nazareth  to  use  the  spoils  and  honors  of  the 
world  to  reward  friends  or  conciliate  enemies.  He 
had  nothing  of  the  sort  to  offer  would-be  adherents 
or  supporters  of  his  mission.  John  expected  and 
desired,  even  as  he  received,  no  consideration  of  this 
kind.  These  are  his  own  words,  John  i.  32-34 :  ''  And 
John  bare  record,  saying,  I  saw  the  Spirit  descend- 
ing from  heaven  like  a  dove,  and  it  abode  upon  him. 
And  I  knew  him  not,  but  he  that  sent  me  to  baptize 
with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me,  Upon  whom  thou 
shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending  and  remaining  on 
him,  the  same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  I  saw,  and  bare  record  that  this  is  the 
Son  of  God."  John  iii.  31  :  ''He  that  cometh  from 
above  is  above  all ;  he  that  is  of  the  earth  is  earthly, 
and  speaketh  of  the  earth;  he  that  cometh  from 
heaven  is  above  all."  Ver.  34-36 :  "  For  he  whom 
God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  God :  for  God 
giveth  not  the  Spirit  by  mxasure  unto  him.  The 
Father  loveth  the  Son,  and  hath  given  all  things  into 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  153 

his  hand.  He  that  beheveth  on  the  Son  hath  ever- 
lasting Hfe :  and  he  that  beheveth  not  the  Son  shall 
not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

Testimony  of  the  Father. 

John  testifies  to  seeing  the  sign  promised,  the  de- 
scent of  the  Holy  Spirit  like  a  dove  upon  the  Lord  at 
his  baptism.  This  was  accompanied  by  a  voice  from 
heaven,  saying,  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom 
I  am  well  pleased."  The  same  voice  was  heard  by 
Peter,  James,  and  John  on  the  mountain,  where  Jesus 
"  was  transfigured  before  them  and  his  face  did  shine 
as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light." 

There  appeared  also  Moses  and  Elijah,  talking 
with  him  "  of  his  decease,  which  he  must  accomplish 
at  Jerusalem."  A  bright  cloud  overshadowed  them, 
and  behold  a  voice  out  of  the  cloud,  which  said, 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased ;  hear  ye  him."  Many  years  after  the  aged 
apostle  Peter,  consciously  nearing  his  end,  wrote  as 
follows,  2  Peter  i.  16-18:  "For  we  have  not  fol- 
lowed cunningly  devised  fables  when  we  made 
known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  but  were  eye-witnesses  of  his  majesty. 
For  he  received  from  God  the  Father  honor  and 
glory,  when  there  came  such  a  voice  unto  him  from 
the  excellent  glory.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased.      And  this  voice  which 


154  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

came  from  heaven  we  heard,  when  we  were  with 
him  in  the  holy  mount." 

In  the  twelfth  chapter  of  John  the  same  voice 
from  heaven  speaks  again  in  the  ears  of  a  multitude, 
of  whom  some  said  it  thundered,  others  that  an 
angel  spoke  to  him.  Some  evidently  heard  uttered 
words,  for  Jesus  speaks  of  it  to  them  as  a  voice,  not 
a  sound,  and  they  accept  his  description,  though 
probably  many  heard  it  as  only  a  noise.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  that  Jesus  having  appealed  to  God 
to  glorify  his  name,  an  audible  response  came  from 
above,  with  a  promise  to  fulfil  the  prayer  just 
offered. 

Divine  Working  as  Shozvn  in  Miracles. 
But  the  testimony  of  God  to  the  Saviour  was  also 
given  in  the  divine  power  by  which  he  performed 
his  wonderful  miracles.  These  were  very  numer- 
ous, varied  in  character,  consistent  with  the  laws  of 
nature  and  providence,  and  yielding  rich  lessons  of 
spiritual  analogy  and  religious  teaching.  They  were 
not  wrought  to  supply  our  Lord's  personal  needs,  or 
for  his  own  glory,  but  to  relieve  and  instruct  men 
and  exalt  God.  They  were  manifested  at  all  times 
and  places,  with  every  kind  of  circumstance  and  sur- 
rounding, often  in  the  presence  of  great  crowds,  be- 
fore enemies  as  well  as  friends,  and  generally  in 
daylight  in  the  open  air.  They  were  of  the  most  re- 
markable character,  including  the  cure  of  leprosy  in 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  155 

an  advanced  stage,  the  opening  the  eyes  of  one  born 
bHnd,  the  healing  desperate  disease  at  a  distance,  the 
patient  unconscious  of  the  action  of  the  healer,  re- 
storing fierce  and  intractable  demoniacs  to  reason, 
and  even  raising  the  dead,  among  them  one  who  had 
lain  four  days  in  the  tomb.  These  miracles  were 
usually  wrought  by  a  word  alone,  no  instrument  or 
other  accessory  being  used.  They  were  so  well  au- 
thenticated and  so  unassailable  that  his  enemies 
never  tried  to  deny  them  as  facts,  but  explained  them 
by  accusing  him  with  being  in  league  with  the  devil. 
This  charge  cannot  stand  for  a  moment  when  we 
consider  his  treatment  of  evil  spirits  and  their  atti- 
tude toward  him. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  witness  borne  by 
Scripture  to  him,  which  we  can  examine  for  our- 
selves. 

Great  natural  signs  and  supernatural  wonders  ac- 
companied his  death  and  resurrection,  as  the  dark- 
ening of  the  sun  for  three  hours,  the  rending  of  the 
veil  of  the  temple,  and  two  violent  shocks  of  earth- 
quake, accompanied  by  the  apparition  of  deceased 
saints  to  many  in  Jerusalem. 

Christ's  Death  and  Resurrection. 

Of  the  fact  of  Christ's  death  there  can  be  no 
doubt.  It  is  probably  true  that  men  may  remain  in 
a  state  of  suspended  animation,  or  trance,  for  a 
longer  time  than  that  of  our  Lord's  sojourn  in  the 


156  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

tomb.  The  wounds  of  crucifixion  were  not  mor- 
tal, and  a  spark  of  life  might  escape  the  scrutiny  of 
the  executioners.  We  must  thank  the  spear  of  the 
Roman  soldier  for  a  service  little  dreamed  of  by 
him,  for  no  man  ever  survived  a  rupture  of  the  heart 
such  as  was  indicated  by  the  blood  and  water  which 
flowed  from  the  Saviour's  riven  side. 

Not  less  gratitude  do  we  owe  to  the  sleepless  jeal- 
ousy of  priest  and  scribe  which  placed  the  seal  of 
imperial  Rome  on  the  sepulchre  and  surrounded  it 
with  guards,  making  it  impossible  for  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  to  remove  the  body  before  the  resurrection 
morn.  It  was  of  providential  ordering  that  the  in- 
tervening day  being  a  Sabbath,  none  of  his  friends 
even  attempted  to  visit  the  place.  The  tomb  was  a 
new  one,  and  Christ  its  only  occupant,  so  there  could 
be  no  doubt  as  to  whose  body  it  was  that  arose. 

Such  stupendous  facts  as  the  death  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Christ  need  to  be  well  attested,  and  God  has 
given  us  abundant  proof  of  their  actual  occurrence. 
Above  all^  it  is  necessary  that  the  resurrection  be 
established,  since  our  Lord  himself  promised  it 
when  asked  for  a  sign  of  the  truth  of  his  mission, 
and  staked  upon  its  fulfilment  his  title  to  be  consid- 
ered a  messenger  of  God. 

He  repeatedly  told  his  disciples  before  his  death 
that  he  should  rise  again  on  the  third  day;  his 
enemies  also  were  well  aware  of  his  predicting  the 
same. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  157 

In  spite  of  this,  his  disciples  were  with  difficulty 
convinced  first  that  he  could  die,  and  second  that  he 
could  rise  again. 

Only  by  incontestable  and  reiterated  proofs  did  he 
overcome  their  obstinate  incredulity.  During  the 
space  of  forty  days  he  was  repeatedly  seen  by  his 
followers,  even  by  more  than  five  hundred  at  once. 
He  ate,  drank,  walked,  and  talked  with  them, 
showed  the  wounds  of  his  crucifixion,  invited  their 
touch,  and  permitted  them  in  every  way  to  satisfy 
themselves  of  his  identity. 

At  least  eleven  of  them  were  eye-witnesses  of  his 
ascent  to  heaven. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  death  and  resur- 
rection of  the  Lord  Jesus  are  as  well  attested  facts  as 
any  we  have  concerning  the  career  of  Muhammad. 

But  this  is  not  all ;  three  of  his  disciples  have  left 
on  record  a  statement  of  seeing  him  after  his  ascen- 
sion appearing  to  them  in  glory  and  powder,  while 
others  have  assured  us  of  frequent  personal  com- 
munication with  him. 

Stephen,  while  suffering  martyrdom  by  stoning, 
looked  up  and  cried  out :  "Behold,  I  see  the  heavens 
opened  and  the  Son  of  Man  standing  on  the  right 
hand  of  God." 

If  he  had  any  chance  of  escape  before,  these  words 
must  have  sealed  his  doom;  3^et  they  were  uttered 
as  a  testimony  which  could  not  be  repressed,  and  are 


158  ISLAM    'AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

entitled  to  all  the  weight  which  men  attach  to  the 
last  words  of  a  dying  man. 

Among  those  who  heard  Stephen's  exclamation 
was  a  young  man,  destined  to  be  the  inveterate  per- 
secutor of  the  infant  church,  the  bitter  enemy  of 
Jesus  till  on  the  Damascus  road,  as  he  tells  us  over 
and  over,  the  vision  of  Christ  prostrated  him  on  the 
ground,  and  he  heard  a  voice  saying,  "  Saul,  Saul, 
why  persecutest  thou  me?"  Asking,  "Who  art 
thou.  Lord  ?  "  he  receives  the  answer,  "  I  am  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  whom  thou  persecutest."  Convinced  and 
repentant,  he  flung  himself  at  the  feet  and  into  the 
arms  of  the  Lord  with  absolute  self-surrender,  be- 
came the  most  renowned  of  the  apostles,  labored, 
suffered,  and  died  for  the  Man  he  had  hated  and  the 
religion  he  had  sworn  to  destroy. 

John  tells  us  how  on  a  Sabbath  day,  in  his  place 
of  exile  on  a  lonely  island  in  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
his  Lord  visibly  met  him  and  revealed  to  him  things 
to  come. 

The  witnesses  whom  we  have  named  and  many 
more,  so  far  from  gaining  worldly  honor  or  advan- 
tage by  their  testimony,  were  invariably  cast  out,  de- 
spoiled of  their  goods,  persecuted  by  their  nearest 
and  dearest  friends,  hated  of  all  men,  treated  as  the 
filth  and  offscouring  of  the  earth.  To  the  threats  of 
the  world,  as  to  its  allurements,  they  opposed  a 
strange  and  unnatural  indifference,  and  shrank  not 
from    sealing    their    testimony    with    their    blood. 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  159 

"  What  shall  I  do/'  exclaimed  a  persecuting  king, 
"  with  men  who  despise  honor  and  riches  and  fear 
not  suffering  or  death  ?  " 

The  most  remarkable  part  is  that  their  Master  had 
plainly  forewarned  them  of  all  this.  The  invitation 
to  follow  him  involved  readiness  to  bear  the  cross 
with  all  its  suffering  and  shame.  He  exacted  a  su- 
preme devotion,  and  plainly  refused  to  accept  any 
disciple  who  should  not  be  willing  to  forsake  all  he 
had,  and  his  life  also,  for  the  Master's  sake. 

How  strange,  as  from  man  to  man,  appears  the 
inducement  held  out  to  Saul  of  Tarsus  to  devote 
himself  to  Jesus  !  "  I  will  show  him  how  great  things 
he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake."  Wonderful  ap- 
peal and  wonderful  response !  ''  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  ?  "  What  unreserved  surrender  to 
the  will  of  another,  what  unquestioning  renunciation 
of  all  that  might  conflict  with  the  service  of  this 
Galilean  carpenter,  never  seen  in  life,  and  only 
heard  of  to  be  abhorred  and  reviled  by  the  proud 
and  self-willed  Pharisee!  As  Paul  himself  writes, 
in  his  course  of  toil  and  suffering,  even  then  but  half 
accomplished  (2  Corinthians  xi.  23-28),  he  had 
suffered  the  loss  of  all  things,  "  in  stripes  above 
measure,  in  prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft. 
Of  the  Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save 
one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I 
stoned,  thrice  I  suffered  shipwreck,  a  night  and  a 
day  have  I  been  in  the  deep.     In  journeyings  often, 


l6o  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

in  perils  of  waters,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by 
my  own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in 
perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils 
in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren.  In  weari- 
ness and  painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger 
and  thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness. 
Besides  those  things  that  are  without,  that  which 
cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the  churches." 
The  church  he  once  wasted  became  the  flock  of  his 
tender  shepherding,  the  cup  of  suffering  for  Christ 
which  he  had  unrelentingly  pressed  to  the  lips  of 
others  was  now  presented  to  his  own,  but  he  utters 
no  word  of  complaint.  Through  all  the  story  of  his 
trials  breathes  the  hidden  sweetness,  the  divine  con- 
solation known  to  those  only  who  bear  the  cross  and 
follow  in  the  steps  of  Jesus. 

It  might  be  worth  one's  while  to  learn  the  secret 
which  brought  from  his  lips  the  exulting  words, 
"  But  none  of  these  things  move  me,  neither  count  I 
my  life  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  might  finish  my 
course  with  joy  and  the  ministry  which  I  have  re- 
ceived of  the  Lord  Jesus  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the 
grace  of  God." 

Not  only  this  illustrious  apostle,  but  many  obscure 
and  humble  believers,  unsustained  by  the  glorious 
vision  which  converted  him,  have  suffered  all  things 
even  to  death  for  the  love  of  Christ.  They  have  tes- 
tified to  his  power  to  sustain  and  deliver  the  spirit 
under  the  most  trying  circumstances.     They  have 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  i6l 

despised  shame  and  conquered  death  in  the  strength 
of  him,  "  whom  not  having  seen  "  they  loved.  Is 
their  evidence  to  be  rejected  v^^hen  given  in  his 
favor  ? 

Titles  Given  by  Muslims  to  Muhammad. 

It  has  been  said  that  after  the  death  of  Jesus  his 
followers  idealized  him,  ascribing  to  him  a  mission 
not  asserted,  and  titles  not  assumed  by  himself. 

If  we  look  only  at  the  Quran,  this  is  certainly  the 
case  with  Muhammad,  who  nov/here  speaks  of  him- 
self in  the  extravagant  style  of  the  traditions,  for 
instance  the  Hyat  ul  Kulcob,  in  which  we  read :  ''  Ibn 
Babuyah  states  on  the  authority  of  the  imam  Jafer 
i  Saduk,  that  the  Commander  of  the  faithful  declared 
that  the  most  high  and  holy  God  created  the  sacred 
light  or  spirit  of  Muhammad,  the  asylum  of  proph- 
ecy, before  the  heavens  or  earth,  or  empyrean  or 
throne  or  table  of  decrees  or  pen  divine  or  paradise 
or  hell  were  formed,  and  previous  to  the  creation  of 
any  other  of  the  prophets,  by  the  period  of  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty-four  thousand  years.  In  this  light 
God  formed  twelve  compartments,  namely,  of 
power,  greatness,  grace,  mercy,  felicity,  munificence, 
official  dignity,  religious  direction,  prophecy,  exalta- 
tion, majesty,  and  intercession."  After  describing 
the  employment  of  this  light  for  many  thousand 
years,  it  is  said,  "  The  Divine  Being  then  caused  the 
sacred  name  of  the  Prophet  to  appear  on  the  table  of 


l62  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

decrees,  where  it  shone  refulgent  four  thousand 
years,  when  God  inscribed  the  hallowed  appellation 
on  the  empyrean  and  its  pillars,  where  it  glittered 
seven  thousand  years  more.  Thus  in  a  state  of  sub- 
limity and  glory  it  passed  from  sphere  to  sphere  until 
the  Most  High  placed  it  in  the  loins  of  the  father  of 
mankind.  From  Adam  it  passed  to  Noah  and  was 
invariably  transmitted  through  a  pure  medium  until 
caused  to  proceed  from  Abdullah  the  son  of  Abdul 
Muttallib." 

Muhammad  a  Sinner. 

The  prophet  himself,  in  his  revelation,  makes  no 
such  exalted  statements,  and  never  mentions  an  ex- 
istence previous  to  his  advent  in  this  world,  or  claims 
an  immaculate  descent.  On  the  contrary,  he  con- 
fesses himself  to  be  a  sinner,  and  prays  for  for- 
giveness. 

Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  Women,  v.  104-105 : 
"  We  have  sent  down  to  thee  the  book  of  the  Quran, 
with  truth  that  thou  may  est  judge  between  men 
through  the  wisdom  which  God  showeth  thee  there- 
in; and  be  not  an  advocate  for  the  fraudulent;  but 
ask  pardon  of  God  for  thy  wrong  intention,  since 
God  is  indulgent  and  merciful." 

Sura  IX.,  Surat  al  Tauba,  Immunity,  v.  43 :  "  God 
forgive  thee !  why  didst  thou  give  them  leave  to  stay 
at  home,  until  they  w^ho  speak  the  truth  had  become 
manifested  unto  thee  and  thou  hadst  known  the 
liars?" 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  163 

Sura  XL.,  Surat  al  Mumin,  the  True  Believers, 
V.  57,  ''  Wherefore  do  thou,  O  prophet,  bear  the  in- 
sults of  the  unbelievers  with  patience ;  for  the  prom- 
ise of  God  is  true;  and  ask  pardon  for  thy  fault,  and 
celebrate  the  praise  of  thy  Lord  in  the  evening  and 
in  the  morning." 

Sura  LXXX.,  Surat  al  Abas,  He  Frowned,  v. 
i-ii :  "  The  prophet  frowned  and  turned  aside  be- 
cause the  blind  man  came  unto  him ;  and  how  dost 
thou  know  whether  he  shall  peradventure  be  cleansed 
from  his  sins,  or  whether  he  shall  be  admonished 
and  the  admonition  shall  profit  him?  The  man 
who  is  wealthy  thou  receivest  respectfully;  whereas 
it  is  not  to  be  charged  on  thee  that  he  is  not  cleansed ; 
but  him  who  cometh  unto  thee  earnestly,  seeking 
his  salvation  and  who  feareth  God,  dost  thou  neglect. 
By  no  means  shouldst  thou  act  thus." 

Christ's  Own  Claims. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  show  that  Christians  make  no 
claims  for  their  Lord  which  he  did  not  make  for 
himself. 

John  viii.  58 :  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Be- 
fore Abraham  was,  I  am." 

John  xvii.  24 :  "  And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  thou 
me  with  thine  own  self  with  the  glory  which  I  had 
with  thee  before  the  world  was.  Father,  I  will  that 
they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me 
where  I  am;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory,  which 


1^4  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

thou  hast  given  me;  for  thou  lovedst  me  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world." 

John  V.  21-23 :  "  For  as  the  Father  raiseth  up  the 
dead  and  quickeneth  them,  even  so  the  Son  quicken- 
eth  whom  he  will.  For  the  Father  judgeth  no  man, 
but  hath  committed  all  judgment  unto  the  Son.  That 
all  men  should  honor  the  Son,  even  as  they  honor 
the  Father.  He  that  honoreth  not  the  Son  honor- 
eth  not  the  Father  which  hath  sent  him." 

John  vi.  38 :  "  For  I  came  down  from  heaven,  not 
to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him  that  sent 
me." 

John  X.  30 :    "I  and  my  Father  are  one." 

The  sinlessness  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  also  estab- 
lished by  strong  proofs. 

In  John  viii.  46,  he  says  to  his  enemies :  ''  Which 
of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin?  "  Though  he  was  con- 
stantly and  closely  watched  by  bitter  and  jealous 
men,  trying  and  tempting  him  in  every  possible 
way,  hoping  in  some  unguarded  moment  to  secure  a 
word  or  act  to  be  used  against  him  with  the  people 
or  with  the  government,  their  attempts  failed  utterly. 
At  his  trial  they  were  forced  to  resort  to  false  wit- 
nesses, and  even  then  could  find  no  two  whose  evi- 
dence would  hang  together.  Despairing  of  convic- 
tion by  ordinary  means,  the  high  priest  required  the 
Prisoner  himself  to  testify,  administering  to  him  a 
solemn  oath.  Matthew  xxvi.  63  :  'T  adjure  thee  by 
the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  165 

Christ,  the  Son  of  God."  The  answer  was  instant,  "I 
am,  and  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  at  the 
right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven."  It  seems  plain  from  this  passage  that  the 
Jews  expected  their  Messiah  to  be  divine,  that  Jesus 
claimed  for  himself  this  divinity,  referring  in  his  re- 
ply to  two  well-known  Messianic  passages,  and  chose 
to  die  as  a  blasphemer  rather  than  deny  it. 
His  disciples  speak  thus  of  his  sinlessness : 
I  Peter  ii.  22-23 :  "  Who  did  no  sin,  neither  was 
guile  found  in  his  mouth.  Who,  when  he  was  re- 
viled, reviled  not  again ;  when  he  suffered,  he  threat- 
ened not,  but  committed  himself  to  him  that  judgeth 
righteously." 

1  Peter  i.  19:  "A  lamb  without  blemish,  and 
without  spot." 

2  Corinthians  v.  21 :  "  For  he  hath  made  him  to 
be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin;  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." 

Hebrews  iv.  15  :  "  In  all  points  tempted  like  as  we 
are,  yet  without  sin." 

Muhammad  Testifies  in  His  Own  Behalf. 

The  foregoing  testimony  to  Christ  we  gather 
from  the  inspired  New  Testament,  but  when  we 
consult  the  Quran  for  similar  or  stronger  witness  to 
the  Arabian  prophet,  we  find  only  his  own  unsup- 
ported assertion,  by  which  he  has  everything  to  gain 


l66  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

or  lose.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  know  by  it  he  did 
ascend  in  ten  short  years  to  the  summit  of  earthly 
power  and  honor.  When  I  once  asked  you,  "  Why  is 
it  you  so  easily  accept  our  scientific  teaching,  ask  our 
opinion  and  follow  our  advice  in  worldly  matters, 
when  you  will  not  believe  what  we  tell  you  about 
religion  ?  "  you  replied,  "  We  can  indeed  trust  you  to 
tell  us  the  truth  about  science  or  worldly  affairs  of 
which  you  are  cognizant,  but  you  may  be  no  better 
informed  of  the  things  unseen  and  spiritual  than  we. 
Also,  if  a  mistake  is  made  in  worldly  matters,  the 
result  may  not  be  disastrous  or  irretrievable,  but  if 
we  err  in  spiritual  concerns  the  loss  is  irreparable. 
We  dare  not  risk  the  eternal  welfare  of  our  immor- 
tal souls  on  any  uncertainty,  or  without  the  best  and 
strongest  evidence."  I  wondered  then  if  you  at  all 
realized  that  your  traditional  faith  rests  only  on  the 
word  of  one  man,  whom  neither  you  nor  your 
fathers  ever  saw,  and  for  whose  character  you  have 
only  the  word  of  his  partial  relatives  and  friends. 
In  the  case  of  Jesus,  from  the  first  his  claims  and 
their  evidence  were  thoroughly  sifted  and  weighed 
by  foes  as  well  as  friends,  and  this  examination  has 
been  freely  made  by  every  succeeding  generation  till 
the  present  day. 

No  Investigation  in  Muslim  Lands. 

But  you  know  that  for  centuries  after  his  rise,  in 
the  land  where  Muhammad  lived  and  died^  any  at- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  167 

tempt  to  reach  a  just  idea  of  his  character  and  ac- 
tions, or  to  search  the  evidence  offered  by  him  to 
estabhsh  his  prophetic  character,  would  subject  one, 
not  to  refutation  by  argument  or  counter-testimony, 
but  to  the  sharp  and  final  decision  of  the  sword. 
You  are  aware  that  now,  in  all  countries  under  Mus- 
lim control,  any  discussion  or  investigation  of  this 
question  is  impossible.  True  Christianity  is  not  ob- 
liged to  protect  itself  from  inspection  or  inquiry  by 
the  death  penalty.  Why  should  Islam  feel  itself  un- 
able to  stand  without  it  ? 

Muhammad's  Proofs. 

To  return  to  the  testimony  given  by  Muhammad, 
or  rather  by  the  Quran  in  his  behalf.  Let  me  ask 
you  to  study  it  carefully  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
say  whether  you  find  anything  there  but  repeated, 
vehement,  almost  hysterical  professions  of  inspira- 
tion, labored  justifications  of  his  character  as  a  mes- 
senger of  God,  such  as  we  may  safely  say  are  found 
in  the  revelations  of  no  former  prophet.  There  are 
obscure  allusions  to  visions,  and  earnest  assevera- 
tions of  truthfulness,  but,  after  all,  does  he  give  you 
anything  more  to  rely  on  than  his  bare  word  ?  Are 
you  sure  that  he  was  not  of  a  credulous  nature,  eas- 
ily flattered  and  deceived?  that  he  possessed  the 
necessary  qualities  for  testing  communications  pur- 
porting to  come  from  the  unseen  world?  that  he 
was  so  sure  to  be  infallibly  right  that  you  can  risk 


l68  ISLAM    "AND.    'CHRISTIANITY. 

the  eternal  fate  of  your  immortal  soul  on  his  judg- 
ment, consciousness,  and  experience?  Did  any  one 
ever  see  an  angel  in  conference  with  him?  Does  he 
not  expressly  say,  when  angels  appeared  to  him — for 
instance,  at  the  battle  of  Badr— they  were  invisible 
to  his  followers?  Sura  XXXIIL,  Surat  ul  Ahzab, 
the  Confederates,  v.  9 :  "  O  true  believers,  remem- 
ber the  favor  of  God  towards  you  when  armies  of 
infidels  came  against  you  and  we  sent  against  them 
a  wind  and  hosts  of  angels  which  ye  saw  not ;  and 
God  beheld  that  which  ye  did." 

The  friends  of  Jesus  saw  visions  of  angels :  at  his 
birth,  resurrection,  and  ascension.  At  his  trans- 
figuration Moses  and  Elijah  returned  to  attest  his 
superiority  to  themselves ;  but  never  once,  as  far  as 
we  learn  from  the  Quran,  were  the  eyes  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Muhammad  allowed  to  behold  his  celestial 
visitants,  or  their  ears  opened  to  hear  their  voices. 

Abu  Bekr  indeed  bore  witness  to  the  prophet's 
celestial  journey,  but  not,  it  would  appear,  as  a  fact 
of  which  he  himself  had  personal  knowledge  such  as 
our  courts  of  law  require,  but  rather  as  a  hearsay 
witness,  any  narrative  told  by  Muhammad  com- 
manding his  belief  on  account  of  the  confidence  felt 
by  him  in  the  integrity  of  his  son-in-law. 

Ayesha's  Account. 

Ayeshia,  the  daughter  of  Abu  Bekr,  and  others  of 
Muhammad's  wives  and  disciples,  tell  of  seeing  the 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  169 

prophet  in  peculiar  physical  conditions,  believed  to 
be  caused  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy  descending  on 
him. 

A  celebrated  European  savant,  Dr.  Weil,  a  thor- 
ough Arabic  scholar,  has  published  a  work  in  Ger- 
man on  the  life  and  acts  of  Muhammad,  drawn  from 
the  most  reliable  Arabic  books.  He  thus  attempts 
to  account  for  the  facts  of  Muhammad's  career  and 
for  the  occurrences  related  by  his  friends  of  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  successive  revelations :  ''In  the 
outset  of  his  career  Muhammad  was  possessed  with 
the  idea  that  God  had  really  sent  him  to  teach  the 
true  religion  in  Arabia,  and  that,  being  from  child- 
hood subject  to  fits,  the  phantasies  which  he  saw 
during  the  state  of  unconsciousness  added  strength 
to  his  belief." 

In  the  "  Insan  ul  Ayun,"  Ibn  Ishaq  relates  upon 
the  authority  of  his  elders  that  before  the  descent  of 
the  Quran,  while  in  Mecca,  Muhammad  was  under 
treatment  for  illness  proceeding  from  the  influence 
of  the  evil  eye,  and  that,  after  the  descent  of  the 
Quran,  he  still  had  this  disease;  that  he  would  be- 
come unconscious  for  a  time,  that  he  would  tremble, 
his  eyes  being  closed  and  his  mouth  foaming,  and 
that  he  would  bellow  like  a  young  camel.  Again, 
in  the  same  book  it  is  written,  upon  the  authority  of 
Ayesha,  that  when  Gabriel  descended  to  him,  he 
would  become  exceedingly  oppressed,  the  sweat  ran 
off  his  brow,  his  eyes  became  wild,  and  sometimes 


i;o  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

he  would  bellow  like  a  young  camel ;  and  also  upon 
the  authority  of  Zeid  ibn  Thabit,  that  at  the  time 
when  a  revelation  descended  to  him,  he  became  as 
one  in  great  agony,  and  then,  losing  his  senses,  he 
became  as  one  intoxicated.  Abu  Harira  says: 
"  While  the  revelation  was  descending  to  him  none 
of  us  could  look  upon  him  because  his  mouth 
foamed  and  his  eyes  closed,  and  sometimes  he  would 
cry  like  a  young  camel."  Now,  according  to  these 
and  other  accounts,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he 
was  subject  to  fits  of  epilepsy,  for  the  symptoms 
above  mentioned  are  exactly  those  of  that  disease. 
It  should  be  noticed,  too,  that  persons  who  suffer 
from  this  malady  have  sometimes  very  wonderful 
visions.* 

The  above  explanation,  though  accepted  by  many 
non-Muslims,  does  not,  to  my  mind,  meet  all  the 
facts,  though  it  may  partly  account  for  some  of 
them. 

Muhammad  Not  a  Conscious  Impostor. 

The  Quran  establishes  beyond  a  doubt  that  Mu- 
hammad thoroughly  believed  in  his  own  inspiration ; 
that  he  was  no  impostor  playing  a  part,  but  felt  him- 
self to  be  an  instrument  wielded  by  the  hand  of  God. 
He  suffered  severe  persecution  during  years-  of  dis- 
couragement and  failure  before  he  could  have  any 
idea  of  the  power  to  which  he  was  to  attain.     He 

^Mizan  ul  Haqq  or  Balance  of  Truth. — Pfander. 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  171 

seemed  as  one  filled  and  penetrated  with  a  truth 
which  he  must  proclaim,  whether  man  would  hear 
or  no.  A  heavy  responsibility  lay  upon  him  to  de- 
clare his  message,  even  to  a  blaspheming  and  perse- 
cuting race.  His  spirit  is  not  unlike  that  which  has 
ever  animated  the  true  prophet.  It  was  the  con- 
tagion of  this  strong  faith  in  his  mission  as  the  Apos- 
tle of  the  Most  High  which  spread  to  his  disciples, 
kindling  and  sustaining  their  enthusiasm,  and  ensur- 
ing their  fidelity  to  him.  It  is  this  element  in  his 
career  which  makes  him  one  of  the  great  enigmas 
of  history,  and  has  almost,  seemingly,  persuaded 
many  not  of  Islam  to  think  he  must  have  been,  in 
some  sense,  inspired,  and  possessed  some  claim,  at 
least  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  mission,  to  be  rightly 
called  a  prophet.  Furthermore,  in  the  Quran  itself, 
and  in  the  whole  history  of  Muhammad,  there  is  a 
purpose,  an  energy,  a  consistency,  which  appear 
remarkable,  even  if  we  admit  to  the  full  his  genius 
and  personal  magnetism.  He  is  a  "  man  of  destiny," 
appearing  in  himself,  in  his  comparatively  short 
career  and  its  momentous  bearing  on  the  world's  his- 
tory, less  like  a  voluntary  agent  than  a  piece  on  the 
great  chessboard,  moved  by  the  invisible  hand  of 
some  superior  power. 

His  Own  Account. 

His  own  account  is  as  follows :    Sura  LIIL,  Surat 
al  Najm,  the  Star,  v.  1-18 :  "  By  the  star  when  it  set- 


172  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

teth,  your  companion  Muhammad  erreth  not,  nor  is 
he  led  astray,  neither  doth  he  speak  of  his  own  will. 
It  is  no  other  than  a  revelation  which  hath  been  re- 
vealed unto  him.  One  mighty  in  power,  endued 
with  understanding,  taught  it  him;  and  he  ap- 
peared in  the  highest  part  of  the  horizon.  After- 
wards he  approached  the  Prophet,  and  near  unto 
him  until  he  was  at  the  distance  of  two  bows'  length 
from  him,  or  yet  nearer;  and  he  revealed  unto  his 
servant  that  which  he  revealed.  The  heart  of  Mu- 
hammad did  not  falsely  represent  that  which  he  saw. 
Will  ye,  therefore,  dispute  with  him  concerning  that 
which  he  saw?  He  also  saw  him  another  time,  by 
the  lote  tree,  beyond  which  there  is  no  passing :  near 
it  is  the  garden  of  eternal  abode.  When  the  lote  tree 
covered  that  which  it  covered  his  eyesight  turned 
not  aside,  neither  did  it  wander,  and  he  really  beheld 
some  of  the  greatest  signs  of  his  Lord." 

Sura  LXXXL,  Surat  al  Takwir,  the  Folding  Up, 
V.  15-25:  ''Verily  I  swear  by  the  stars  which  are 
retrograde,  which  move  swiftly,  and  which  hide 
themselves;  and  by  the  night,  when  it  cometh  on; 
and  by  the  morning,  when  it  appeareth ;  that  these  are 
the  words  of  an  honorable  messenger,  endued  with 
strength,  of  established  dignity  in  the  sight  of  the 
possessor  of  the  throne,  obeyed  by  the  angels  under 
his  authority,  and  faithful ;  and  your  companion  Mu- 
hammad is  not  distracted.  He  had  already  seen  him 
in  the  clear  horizon ;  and  he  suspected  not  the  secrets 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  173 

revealed  unto  him.  Neither  are  these  the  words  of 
an  accursed  devil." 

Dr.  Fisher  says  in  his  ''  Outlines  of  Universal  His- 
tory" :  "  He  retired  for  meditation  and  prayer  to 
the  lonely  and  desolate  Mount  Hira.  A  vivid  sense 
of  the  being  of  one  Almighty  God,  and  of  his  re- 
sponsibility to  God,  entered  his  soul.  A  tendency 
to  hysteria,  in  the  East  a  disease  of  men  as  well  as 
women,  and  to  epilepsy,  helps  to  account  for  ex- 
traordinary states  of  mind  and  body  of  which  he 
was  the  subject.  At  first  he  ascribed  the  strange 
ecstasies  or  hallucinations  to  evil  spirits,  especially  on 
the  occasion  when  an  angel  directed  him  to  begin 
the  work  of  prophesying.  But  he  was  persuaded  by 
Khadijah  (his  wife)  that  their  source  was  from 
above.  He  became  convinced  that  he  was  a  prophet, 
inspired  with  a  holy  truth,  and  charged  with  a  sacred 
commission." 

"As  to  the  vision  in  which  Muhammad  heard  the 
five  verses  summoning  him  to  the  prophetic  ofifice, 
(Sura  XCVL,  Surat  al  Alaq,  Congealed  Blood), 
tradition  regards  it  as  a  real  occurrence,  while  an- 
other ti  adition,  said  to  have  emanated  from  the  same 
source,  declares  the  whole  incident  to  have  been  a 
dream.  The  former  of  these  traditions  is  that  of 
Urwa  ibn  al  Zubair,  received  from  Ayesha,  who 
heard  it  from  Muhammad  many  years  after  the 
event.    It  is  given  as  follows  by  Noldeke : 

''  The   revelation   commenced   with   real   dreams, 


174  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

which  illuminated  Muhammad  like  the  glow  of  the 
dawn.  Thereupon  he  retired  to  the  solitude  of 
Mount  Hira.  When  he  had  spent  some  time  there 
in  devotion,  the  angel  appeared  to  him,  and  said, 
'  Read/  Muhammad  answered,  '  I  cannot  read/ 
Thereupon  the  angel  pressed  him  mightily  and  re- 
peated the  command.  This  was  all  repeated  three 
times,  when  at  last  the  angel  pronounced  these  five 
verses.  Muhammad  was  greatly  frightened  at  see- 
ing this,  and  hastened  to  his  wife,  Khadijah,  who 
comforted  him." 

The  other  tradition,  which  represents  this  vision 
as  simply  a  dream,  is  found  in  Ibn  Hishaam,  on  the 
authority  of  Umar  ibn  Qatada.  In  this  tradition  it 
is  said  that  "  when  Muhammad  woke  up,  the  words 
of  the  revelation  were  impressed  on  his  heart."* 

"It  is  related, from  Muhammad's  own  mouth,  that 
being  on  Mount  Hira  and  hearing  himself  called, 
he  looked  on  each  hand  and  saw  nobody ;  but  looking 
upwards,  he  saw  the  angel  Gabriel  on  a  throne  be- 
tween heaven  and  earth ;  at  which  sight,  being  much 
terrified,  he  returned  to  his  wife,  Khadijah,  and  bade 
her  cover  him  up ;  and  that  then  the  angel  descended 
and  addressed  him  in  the  words  of  the  text/'  (Sura 
LXXIV.,  Surat  al  Muddasir,  the  Covered).— Scf/^'^ 
Qiiran.f 

If  we  accept  the  account  of  Muhammad  as  a  state- 
ment of  an  actual  occurrence,  we  find  he  accepted 

*Wherry's  Commentary,  vol.  iv.,  p.  259. 
tSee  note  on  page  219. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  175 

this  supernatural  visitant  without  subjecting  him  to 
any  sort  of  a  test  to  ascertain  if  he  were  truly  Gabriel 
and  sent  from  God,  as  he  professed  to  be.  This  re- 
moves the  foundation  of  Islam  one  point  farther 
back  and  compels  the  inquiry,  How  does  the  de- 
vout Muslim  satisfy  himself  as  to  the  identity  of 
the  angel  and  his  commission  from  the  Lord?  We 
have,  apparently,  only  his  own  word  for  it.  The 
previous  revelations  warn  us  of  the  existence  of  evil 
spirits  who  are  ever  striving  to  deceive  and  ruin 
men. 

I  John  iv.  1-3  :  "  Beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit, 
but  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  are  of  God;  be- 
cause many  false  prophets  are  gone  out  into  the 
world.  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God.  Every 
spirit  that  confesseth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh  is  of  God :  and  every  spirit  that  confesseth 
not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  not  of 
God:  and  this  is  that  spirit  of  Antichrist,  whereof 
ye  have  heard  that  it  should  come;  and  even  now 
already  is  it  in  the  world." 

The  spirits  and  their  utterances  are  to  be  tried  by 
their  attitude  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Anointed  and  sent  of  the  Father,  the  Saviour  of  the 
whole  world,  in  whom  God  is  well  pleased. 

Attitude  of  the  Quran  to  Christ. 

Testing  the  Quran  thus,  it  is  found  to  be  charac- 
terized by  a  certain  veiled  hostility  and  studied  de- 


1^6  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

preciation  of  him.  While  it  admits  his  perfect  sin- 
lessness  and  prophetic  character,  it  bitterly  denies 
his  divinity,  and  all  implied  in  his  being  the  Son  of 
God.  I  will  quote  a  passage  at  random,  a  sample  of 
countless  others. 

Sura  XLIIL,  Surat  al  Zukhraf,  Ornaments  of 
Gold,  V.  59 :  "  Jesus  is  no  other  than  a  servant, 
whom  we  favored  with  the  gift  of  prophecy ;  and  we 
appointed  him  for  an  example  unto  the  children  of 
Israel."  V.  6^^ :  "  And  when  Jesus  came  with 
evident  miracles,  he  said,  Now  I  am  come  unto 
you  with  wisdom,  and  to  explain  unto  you  part  of 
those  things  concerning  which  ye  disagree." 

It  is  not  strange  that,  while  Muslims  say  much  of 
their  love  and  honor  for  the  Lord  Jesus,  he  is  to  the 
Shiahs  only  one  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
thousand  prophets,  all  considered  sinless,  Adam  and 
Noah  being  among  the  number.  The  Sunnis  recog- 
nize a  hundred  and  forty-four  thousand.  Neither  is 
it  wonderful  that  so  few  of  them  take  the  trouble  to 
familiarize  themselves  with  the  life  and  teachings 
of  one  who,  as  they  suppose,  was  only  a  prophet  for 
the  Jews. 

In  the  light  of  the  great  discrepancies  and  flat  con- 
tradictions existing  between  the  Bible  and  the  Quran, 
I  beg  you  to  examine  with  the  greatest  care  the 
foundations  of  Islam,  remembering  that  your  salva- 
tion depends  upon  arriving  at  the  truth.  Are  you 
prepared  to  venture  all  on  the  word  of  one  man,  or 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  177 

even  one  angel,  when  that  word  plainly  supersedes 
and  abrogates  the  well-established  revelations  which 
preceded  it?  The  former  systems  of  religion  are 
like  a  strong  castle  founded  on  a  rock,  and  stand- 
ing ''  four  square  to  every  wind  that  blows" ;  but 
Islam,  resting  on  the  authority  of  one  witness,  rather 
resembles  a  pyramid  poised  on  its  apex. 

Words  of  Jesus. 

Let  us  look  at  the  words  of  Jesus,  for  to  them  he 
appealed  to  authenticate  his  divine  character  and 
mission.  Leaving  out  those  spoken  by  him,  as  we 
believe,  through  the  prophets  before  his  birth,  and 
the  apostles  after  his  ascension,  we  will  confine  our 
attention  to  the  utterances  of  his  brief  ministry  of 
three  and  a  half  years. 

The  wisdom  of  the  whole  world  has  produced 
nothing  like  them ;  they  unlock  the  mysteries  of  time 
and  eternity,  bring  "  life  and  immortality  to  light," 
and  satisfy  alike  the  loftiest  demands  of  the  intellect 
and  the  deepest  cravings  of  the  heart.  How  inimi- 
table his  parables!  how  perfect  his  precepts,  won- 
derful in  condensation  and  scope!  What  stores  of 
comfort  and  instruction  in  every  word,  whether  ut- 
tered in  formal  teaching  or  in  the  familiar  inter- 
course of  daily  life! 

Teachings  of  the  Quran, 
But  when  we  turn  to  the  Quran  we  are  reminded 


178  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

of  the  saying,  ''  What  is  true  is  not  new,  and  what 
is  new  is  not  true."  The  great  doctrines  of  the  unity 
and  holiness  of  the  Creator,  his  wisdom,  justice,  and 
mercy,  sin  and  judgment,  the  resurrection  of  right- 
eous and  wicked  men,  heaven  and  hell,  had  long  be- 
fore been  so  fully  set  forth  in  the  Jewish  and  Chris- 
tian Scriptures  that  no  additional  revelation  was 
needed.  Had  the  knowledge  of  sacred  books  been 
diffused  as  it  should  have  been,  the  Arabs  could 
never  have  made  the  mistake  of  supposing  these  car- 
dinal truths  to  be  revealed  for  the  first  time.  We 
must  confess  this  to  have  been  the  fault  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  which,  having  left  the  simplicity  of  the 
faith  for  image  and  relic  worship,  and  received  for 
doctrines  the  vain  traditions  of  men,  had  forgotten 
to  preach  a  pure  Gospel,  and  neglected  the  last  com- 
mand of  her  Lord  to  teach  all  nations  his  words 
and  works.  She  paid  the  penalty  of  disobedience  in 
being  powerless  to  prevent  the  rise  of  the  new  per- 
secuting religion  which  was  destined  to  prove  her 
mortal  enemy. 

"  What  was  true  was  not  new."  Nothing,  abso- 
lutely nothing,  is  added  by  the  Prophet  in  the  way 
of  information  or  enforcement,  while  many  of  the 
old  truths  are  belittled,  misstated,  and  contradicted. 

"  What  was  new  was  not  true" :  the  change  of 
base  from  Isaac  to  Ishmael,  from  the  Jew  to  the 
Arab,  from  Jerusalem  to  Mecca,  from  Jesus  Christ 
to  Muhammad,  from  salvation  by  grace  to  salva- 


ISLAAI     AND     CHRISTIANITY.  179 

tion  by  works,  cannot  be  accepted.  The  new  views 
of  God,  the  new  terms  of  salvation,  the  new  regime 
of  force,  the  mechanical  character  of  the  new  obedi- 
ence, are  all  inferior  to  the  light,  life,  and  liberty  of 
Christianity.  How,  then,  can  we  believe  they  ema- 
nate from  the  same  source?  He  who  has  known  the 
liberty  of  a  son  in  the  Father's  house  cannot  but  hesi- 
tate when  called  to  assume  the  station  of  a  slave 
bowing  beneath  the  inscrutable  will  of  a  far-off  and 
unapproachable  Master. 

Prophetic  Gifts  and  Saving  Grace. 

We  have  already  adverted  to  the  gifts  of  prophecy 
and  miracle  abounding  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  but  in  Mu- 
hammad conspicuous  by  their  absence ;  but  we  must 
not  lay  undue  stress  on  these  as  primary  credentials 
of  a  true  prophet. 

The  Old  Testament,  in  the  example  of  Balaam, 
and  the  New  in  that  of  Caiaphas,  show  us  that, 
anomalous  as  it  may  appear  to  us,  God  can  use 
wicked  men  to  utter  true  prophecies.  Of  miracles, 
we  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they  were  wrought 
by  Judas  as  well  as  his  fellow-apostles  when  Christ 
sent  them  out  "  with  power  and  authority  over  the 
devils,  and  to  cure  disease." 

Matthew  vii.  21-23,  our  Saviour  says:  "Not 
every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven :  but  he  that  doeth  the 
will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.     Many  will 


l8o  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

say  to  me  in  that  day,  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not 
prophesied  in  thy  name  ?  and  in  thy  name  have  cast 
out  devils?  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works  ?  And  then  will  I  profess  unto  them,  I  never 
knew  you;  depart  from  me,  ye  that  work  iniquity." 

Matthew  xxiv.  24 :  ''  There  shall  arise  false 
Christs  and  false  prophets,  and  shall  show  great 
signs  and  wonders,  insomuch  that,  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, they  shall  deceive  the  very  elect." 

2  Thessalonians  ii.  9 :  "  Whose  coming  is  after 
the  working  of  Satan,  with  all  power  and  signs  and 
lying  wonders." 

Those  whose  trust  is  based  only  on  the  evidence 
of  prophecy  and  miracles,  or  what  appears  to  be  such, 
may  build  on  a  sandy  foundation,  and  in  the  de- 
cisive day  of  trial  find  themselves  overwhelmed  by 
fearful  and  remediless  disaster.  God,  in  his  mercy, 
has  provided  us  with  a  criterion  by  which  to  judge 
the  pretensions  of  those  who  profess  to  be  his  rep- 
resentatives. 

Test  of  True  Prophets. 

Matthew  vii.  15-18:  "Beware  of  false  prophets, 
which  come  to  you  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly 
they  are  ravening  wolves.  Ye  shall  know  them  by 
their  fruits.  Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or 
figs  of  thistles  ?  A  good  tree  cannot  bring  forth  evil 
fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  tree  bring  forth  good 
fruit."    The  supreme  test  taught  and  met  by  Christ 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  igl 

himself  is  personal  holiness  of  character.  He  spoke 
of  himself  as  comings  not  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil 
the  law  of  God.  If  we  accept  his  own  word,  he  as 
divine  was  the  author  of  the  moral  law,  yet  we  never 
find  him  taking  up  a  position  of  superiority  to  its 
requirements.  On  the  contrary,  we  recognize  in 
him  the  only  human  being  who  has  ever  completely 
kept  the  commandments  in  letter  and  spirit.  Per- 
fect in  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  he  "  brought  in 
an  everlasting  righteousness  "  sufficient  to  satisfy  all 
demands  of  justice,  and,  as  imputed  to  those  who 
trust  in  him,  able  to  save  even  "  unto  the  uttermost." 

Sinlessness  of  Christ. 

He  set  a  faultless  example  to  his  followers,  offer- 
ing to  God  a  perfect  obedience  to  his  will,  and  to 
man  a  wondrous  devotion,  even  laying  down  his 
life  for  the  guilty  race  with  which  he  identified 
himself.  We  have  the  testimony  of  his  disciples  to 
his  sinless  perfection,  men  associated  with  him  for 
three  and  a  half  years  on  the  familiar  terms  of  close 
intimacy.  Much  of  this  time  was  spent  in  touring : 
on  the  road,  or  in  the  crowded  conditions  of  Oriental 
village  hospitality,  so  trying  to  ordinary  friendship. 
They  saw  him  weary,  hungry,  exposed  to  strong 
provocations.  They  saw  him  when  the  popular  tide 
ran  strong  in  his  favor,  and  again  when  it  ebbed, 
and  most  of  his  followers  left  him,  in  danger,  be- 
trayal, and  death.     Looking  back  on  all,  they  delib- 


l82  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

erately  tell  us  his  life  sustained  his  professed  char- 
acter, and  he  was  indeed  a  sinless  man.  Not  only 
their  word,  but  the  record  of  his  words  and  actions 
as  we  have  it,  bears  them  out  in  their  assertion. 
Tried  by  the  most  exacting  standard  of  modern  mo- 
rality, he  is  without  fault.  His  friends  had  every 
opportunity  to  judge  him  by  the  highest  criterion, 
not  the  ability  to  utter  beautiful  poetry,  which  even 
depraved  men  often  possess,  but  the  power  to  lead  a 
holy  life. 

We  have  seen  his  enemies  dogging  his  steps  with 
keen  eyes  of  hate  and  prejudice,  but  unable  to  find 
any  accusation  against  him.  We  have  seen  the  infi- 
delity of  nineteen  centuries  scanning  his  life,  eager 
to  discover  some  flaw  in  his  moral  perfection,  but 
compelled,  like  the  Roman  judge,  to  declare,  "  I  find 
no  fault  in  him."  Those  who  reject  him  as  a  divine 
Saviour  are  lavish  in  praising  him  as  the  ideal  man, 
the  unique  flower  of  humanity.  The  worst  reproach 
brought  to-day  against  Christians  is  that  they  are 
not  like  their  Master,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  obscure 
Jewish  carpenter,  dying  early  as  a  criminal  and  an 
offender  against  Roman  law.  He  who  bore  the  pun- 
ishment of  a  slave  on  the  accursed  cross  furnishes 
to-day  the  standard  by  which  all  men  are  judged, 
while  he  himself  is  judged  of  no  man. 

Morality  of  Muhammad. 
What  a  contrast  to  Muhammad,  who,  setting  up 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  183 

a  far  inferior  code  of  morals,  giving  indulgence  to 
the  weaknesses  of  the  flesh,  and  proclaiming  liberty 
to  its  lusts,  could  not  himself  observe  the  law  he 
promulgated  as  from  God!  On  the  ground  of  his 
prophetic  office  he  claimed  to  be  superior  to  its  re- 
quirements and  exempt  from  its  penalties,  and  it  is 
notorious  that  he  freely  acted  on  this  principle. 

Readers  of  the  Quran  are  familiar  with  the  Suras, 
which  specially  excuse  him  from  observing  the  mar- 
riage and  divorce  laws  of  Islam,  though  they  appear 
to  most  persons  sufficiently  elastic  to  satisfy  any  one. 
To  cite  but  one  instance.  Sura  XXXIIL,  Surat  ul 
Ahzab,  the  Confederates,  v.  49-57-  "  O  Prophet,  we 
have  allowed  thee  thy  wives  unto  whom  thou  hast 
given  their  dower,  and  also  the  slaves  which  thy 
right  hand  possesseth,  of  the  booty  which  God  hath 
granted  thee;  and  the  daughters  of  thy  uncles,  and 
the  daughters  of  thy  aunts,  both  on  thy  father's  side, 
and  on  thy  mother's  side,  who  have  fled  with  thee 
from  Makkah,  and  any  other  believing  woman  if  she 
give  herself  to  the  Prophet,  in  case  the  Prophet  de- 
sireth  to  take  her  to  wife.  This  is  a  peculiar  priv- 
ilege granted  to  thee  above  the  rest  of  the  true  be- 
lievers. We  know  what  we  have  ordained  them  con- 
cerning their  wives  and  the  slaves  which  their  right 
hands  possess;  lest  it  should  be  deemed  a  crime  in 
thee  to  make  use  of  the  privilege  granted  thee ;  for 
God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Thou  mayest  post- 
pone the  turn  of  such  of  thy  wives  as  thou  shalt 


1 84  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

please;  and  thou  mayest  take  unto  thee  her  whom 
thou  shalt  please:  and  her  whom  thou  shalt  desire 
of  those  whom  thou  shalt  have  before  rejected;  and 
it  shall  be  no  crime  in  thee.  This  will  be  more  easy, 
that  they  may  be  entirely  content  and  may  not  be 
grieved,  but  may  be  well  pleased  with  what  thou 
shalt  give  every  one  of  them.  God  knoweth  what- 
ever is  in  your  hearts :  and  God  is  knowing  and  gra- 
cious. It  shall  not  be  lawful  for  thee  to  take  other 
women  to  wife  hereafter,  nor  to  exchange  any  of 
thy  wives  for  them,  though  their  beauty  please  thee, 
except  the  slaves  whom  thy  right  hand  shall  possess ; 
and  God  observeth  all  things.  O  true  believers,  en- 
ter not  the  houses  of  the  Prophet,  unless  it  be  per- 
mitted you  to  eat  meat  with  him,  without  waiting 
his  convenient  time;  but  when  ye  are  invited,  then 
enter.  And  when  ye  shall  have  eaten,  disperse  your- 
selves, and  stay  not  to  enter  into  familiar  discourse ; 
for  this  incommodeth  the  Prophet.  He  is  ashamed  to 
bid  you  depart,  but  God  is  not  ashamed  of  the  truth. 
And  when  ye  ask  of  the  Prophet's  wives  what  ye 
may  have  occasion  for,  ask  it  of  them  from  behind 
a  curtain.  This  will  be  more  pure  for  your  hearts 
and  their  hearts.  Neither  is  it  fit  for  you  to  give  any 
uneasiness  to  the  Apostle  of  God,  or  to  marry  his 
wives  after  him  forever,  for  this  would  be  a  grievous 
thing  in  the  sight  of  God.  Whether  ye  divulge  a 
thing,  or  conceal  it,  verily  God  knoweth  all  things. 
It  shall  be  no  crime  in  them,  as  to  their  fathers,  or 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  185 

their  sons,  or  their  sister's  sons,  or  their  women,  or 
the  slaves  which  their  right  hands  possess,  if  they 
speak  to  them  unveiled :  and  fear  ye  God,  for  God  is 
witness  of  all  things.  Verily  God  and  his  angels 
bless  the  Prophet ;  O  true  believers,  do  ye  also  bless 
him  and  salute  him  with  a  respectful  salutation.  As 
to  those  who  offend  God  and  his  Apostle,  God  shall 
curse  them  in  this  world  and  in  the  next,  and  he  hath 
prepared  for  them  a  shameful  punishment.'* 

V.  60-61 :  "  Verily  if  the  hypocrites  and  those  in 
whose  hearts  is  an  infirmity  and  they  who  raise  dis- 
turbances in  Medina,  do  not  desist,  we  will  surely 
stir  thee  up  against  them  to  chastise  them;  hence- 
forth they  shall  not  be  suffered  to  dwell  near  thee 
therein  except  for  a  little  time  and  being  accursed : 
wherever  they  are  found,  they  shall  be  taken  and 
killed  with  a  general  slaughter." 

It  is  not  from  unfriendly  or  neutral  historians,  but 
from  his  own  apologists  and  eulogists,  we  learn  how 
fully  the  Prophet  availed  himself  of  his  exceptional 
matrimonial  privileges.  ''  It  is  said,  in  his  youth  he 
lived  a  virtuous  life.  At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he 
married  Khadijah,  a  widow  forty  years  old :  and  for 
five  and  twenty  years  was  a  faithful  husband  to  her 
alone.  Shortly  after  her  death  he  married  again, 
but  it  was  not  till  he  had  reached  the  mature  age  of 
fifty-four  that  he  became  a  polygamist,  taking 
A3^esha,  a  child  of  seven  or  eight  years,  daughter  of 
Abu  Bekr,  as  rival  of  Sawda.    In  his  fifty-sixth  year 


I86  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

he  married  Hafra,  daughter  of  Umar;  and  the  fol- 
lowing year,  in  two  successive  months,  Zeinab  bint 
Khozeima  and  0mm  Salma;  a  few  months  after, 
Zeinab,  wife  of  Zeid,  his  adopted  son.  In  the  same 
year  he  married  a  seventh  wife  and  also  a  concubine. 
And  at  last,  when  he  was  full  three  score  years  of 
age,  no  fewer  than  three  new  wives,  besides  Mary 
the  Coptic  slave,  were  within  the  space  of  seven 
months  added  to  his  already  well-filled  harem."* 
The  injunction  touching  his  obnoxious  neighbors, 
the  Jews  of  Medina,  we  learn  from  Muslim  histo- 
rians, was  carried  out  by  assassination  and  banish- 
ment of  his  opponents,  whole  tribes  being  expa- 
triated or  exterminated. 

Force  as  a  Means  of  Propagandism, 

While  Islam  has  not  been  a  religion  propagated 
solely  by  the  sword,  it  is  a  well-established  matter  of 
history  that  a  large  part  of  its  success  has  been  by 
force  of  arms.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Quran  permits 
and  commands  believers  to  put  the  enemies  of  Islam 
to  death.  It  is  written  in  the  Hyat  ul  Kuloob  of  the 
birth  of  Muhammad :  "  On  that  night  under  the 
name  of  the  Prophet,  in  every  Torat,  In j eel,  or  Za- 
bour  in  the  world,  a  drop  of  blood  appeared,  signi- 
fying that  he  would  be  a  prophet  armed  with  the 
sword." 

We  find  it  impossible  to  associate  such  ideas  with 

*Sir  William  Muir's  Life  of  Mahomet,  vol.  iv.,  pages  309-310. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  187 

the  personality  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  him  what 
meekness,  obedience,  reverence  for  the  Father,  pu- 
rity, zeal,  hatred  of  sin,  combined  with  infinite  love 
for  the  sinner  and  matchless  self-sacrifice !  In  Mu- 
hammad what  growing  pride,  ambition,  love  of 
power,  self-glorification!  His  apologists  are  never 
weary  of  reminding  us  how  far  he  rose  above  his 
contemporaries,  the  idolatrous  Arabs  who  sur- 
rounded him.  Do  they  not  admit  the  weakness  of 
their  cause  by  thus  measuring  him  from  that  which 
was  confessedly  a  very  low  standard  instead  of  by 
that  perfect  ideal  of  manhood  which  had  been  given 
to  the  world  almost  six  hundred  years  before?  If 
he  were  a  true  prophet,  we  have  a  right  to  expect 
higher  moral  and  spiritual  attainments  than  we  find 
in  his  predecessors.  If  he  were  not  a  true  prophet 
sent  of  God,  what  was  he?  We  read  the  earlier 
Suras,  and  admire  the  lofty  thoughts  and  exalted 
descriptions  of  God,  imperfect  though  they  seem 
when  placed  beside  our  inspired  Scriptures.  Turn 
then  to  the  later  Suras,  and  mark  how  the  com- 
manding personality  and  central  figure  has  become 
that  of  the  Prophet  himself.  He  dominates  every- 
where; we  are  not  suffered  for  a  moment  to  forget 
him.  The  Almighty,  relegated  to  the  background, 
has  become  an  infinitely  great  and  powerful  shadow 
of  Muhammad,  constantly  ministering  to  the 
Prophet's  glory,  and  promptly  complying  with  his 
desires.     A  tradition  says  that  Ayesha  once  said  to 


J  88  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

him :  "  How  kind  your  God  is  to  you !  Verily  he 
always  does  whatever  you  wish!"  The  archangel 
Gabriel  speeds  from  heaven — for  what?  To  reveal 
some  wondrous  depth  of  divine  wisdom,  some 
sweet  secret  of  eternal  love,  some  new  incitement  to 
holiness,  benevolence,  purity  ?  No,  verily,  but  to  say 
to  the  Prophet,  if  his  wives  are  not  content  with  his 
treatment  and  provision  for  them,  he  is  permitted 
to  divorce  them  and  God  will  give  better  ones  in 
their  places.  Or  he  comes  to  adminish  visitors  not 
to  indulge  in  loud  conversation  before  Muhammad's 
door,  to  enter  unbidden,  or  prolong  their  stay.  He 
comes  to  vindicate  the  reputation  of  one  wife,  to  re- 
instate her  in  the  affections  of  her  suspicious  hus- 
band, and  to  rebuke  the  jealousies  and  contentions 
of  the  rest  of  the  harem.  One  cannot  help  thinking 
if  a  prophet,  and  the  greatest  of  prophets,  could  not 
manage  his  polygamous  household  without  such  fre- 
quent intervention  and  aid  from  above,  what  can 
ordinary  men  do  under  like  circumstances?  One 
fact  stands  out  clearly :  Muhammad  is  evidently  the 
principal  figure  in  his  own  estimation,  and  every- 
thing, angelic  visits  included,  is  made  to  subserve 
his  glorification. 

Superseding  of  Jesus  as  Saviour. 

We  understand  from  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  that  God  accepted  and  com- 
missioned the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  189 

the  world,  the  only  Mediator  between  man  and  his 
Maker.  In  him  he  found  a  perfect  righteousness, 
which  by  faith  could  be  imputed  and  imparted  to  the 
sinner,  a  perfect  example  of  the  obedience  man  owes 
to  God,  a  perfect  sacrifice  to  take  away  the  guilt  of 
sin  and  bear  its  punishment.  God  gave  to  Jesus  the 
promised  sign  of  acceptance  by  raising  him  from 
the  dead  on  the  third  day,  and  causing  him  to  ascend 
to  heaven  in  the  sight  of  his  disciples.  He  was 
afterward  seen  in  vision  sitting  at  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father,  waiting,  as  had  been  predicted  of  him, 
till  his  enemies  should  be  made  his  footstool.  When 
and  why  did  God  reject  this  Holy  One  whom  he 
himself  had  chosen,  and  with  whom  he  was  well 
pleased — with  whom  he  had  covenanted  with  an 
oath,  sworn  by  himself,  that  all  kingdoms  and  tribes 
should  serve  him,  and  of  his  kingdom  there  should 
be  no  end?*  If  the  Lord  was  faithful,  as  we  know 
he  was,  even  unto  death,  why  should  God  remove 
him  from  his  office  and  introduce  another  scheme 
of  salvation  for  mankind  ?  Was  not  the  divine  law  of 
perfect  love  to  God  and  love  to  man,  which  Jesus 
taught  and  practised,  the  highest  and  best  rule  of  life 
of  which  we  can  conceive?  Is  it  not  sufficient  to 
transform  earth  to  heaven  and  sinners  to  saints? 
What  need  had  man  of  Muhammad  ?  What  need  of 
Islam?  Your  mind  has  been  perplexed  by  the  con- 
trast between  Muslim  and  Christian  lands  in  regard 

*See  note  on  page  222. 


I^O  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

to  general  enlightenment,  morality,  and  progress. 
You  have  noticed  the  great  advances  made  by  Chris- 
tendom in  science,  discovery,  and  invention.  This 
advance  has  been  specially  marked  since  the  era  of 
the  Reformation  of  the  Church,  and  those  peoples 
who  accepted  the  Bible  alone  as  their  rule  of  faith 
and  practice  have  led  the  van  in  the  wonderful 
march  of  nations.  I  would  not  lay  too  much  stress 
on  this  point,  as  without  doubt  irreligious  and 
wicked  nations  have,  for  a  time,  enjoyed  great 
wealth  and  prosperity.  The  temporary  possession  of 
riches  and  power  is  no  sign  that  God  approves  of 
either  an  individual  or  a  nation.  But  consider,  for 
instance,  the  wonderful  discoveries  of  this  century 
alone  in  astronomy,  chemistry,  geology,  physics, 
physiology,  and  surgery,  which  so  greatly  glorify 
God  and  benefit  man,  and  of  which  we  may  say  not 
one  has  been  made  in  heathen  or  Muhammadan 
lands.  If  Islam  is  the  only  true  religion,  and  its 
people  the  chosen  of  God,  how  is  it  that  he  vouch- 
safes to  them  no  such  insight  into  the  great  secrets 
of  nature?  How^  is  it  that  they  have  not  been  se- 
lected as  a  medium  to  bless  the  world  by  ameliorating 
its  suffering  and  enlightening  its  ignorance?  Not 
only  so,  but  how^  is  it  that  the  state  of  learning  among 
them  is  so  low  that  very  few  have  even  heard  of  these 
great  advances,  and  fewer  still  are  willing  to  believe 
or  capable  of  understanding  them?  How  small  a 
minority  of  Muslims  have  even  learned  that  the 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  191 

world  is  round  and  revolves  about  the  sun !  Why  is 
it  that  in  the  path  of  progress  Christian  nations  lead 
the  v^ay,  while  Islam  lags  behind,  in  company  with 
heathen  and  savage  tribes?  She  does  not  even  know 
how  to  avail  herself  of  the  discoveries  and  inven- 
tions made  by  others  unless  we  except  munitions  of 
war  and  appliances  for  speedy  destruction  of  men. 
She  purchases  the  newest  guns  and  cannon,  but 
affords  no  market  for  improved  tools  of  agriculture 
or  art,  and  she  seeks  European  drill-masters  for  her 
army,  while  her  schools  are  of  the  most  elementary 
description  and  most  of  her  people  entirely  untaught. 

Morals  of  Muslim  Nations. 

I  have  been  told :  ''  It  is  true  that  Christian  lands 
are  wonderfully  prospered  in  material  things,  while 
we  remain  poor  and  ignorant.  But  we  have  the  true 
religion,  and  that  outweighs  all  else.  You  have  the 
learning  of  the  age,  but  receive  your  portion  in  this 
world  alone.  When  we  are  enjoying  the  unspeak- 
able felicity  of  Paradise,  you  will  be  suffering  the 
endless  torments  of  hell."  This  view  might  be  ac- 
cepted if  we  saw  among  Muslims  that  moral  char- 
acter, holiness,  and  obedience  to  God  which  we  are 
entitled  to  expect  in  the  possessors  of  the  only  true 
faith.  These  are  the  genuine  marks  of  the  favor  of 
God,  and  more  to  be  desired  than  any  amount  of 
riches,  power,  or  earthly  wisdom.  But,  alas !  such  is 
not  the  case.     Those  who  live  among  Muslims  and 


192  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

know  them,  not  from  books  or  the  hasty  observa- 
tions of  travel,  but  from  actual  experience,  can  tes- 
tify how  low  is  the  standard  of  morality,  and  how 
far  beneath  even  the  average  of  that  in  Christian 
countries.  When  we  ask  the  ordinary  Muslim  why 
he  steals,  lies,  swears,  and  sins  in  other  ways,  why 
he  does  not  obey  what  he  admits  to  be  the  com- 
mandments of  God,  the  prompt  reply  is,  "  Satan  will 
not  let  me."  Some  even  confess  they  have  no  other 
thought  but  to  continue  in  sin  till  death,  when  they 
expect  to  be  saved  by  the  mercy  of  God.  It  is  not 
a  grateful  task  to  speak  of  the  sins  we  see  and  know, 
or  to  allude  to  those  which,  though  comparatively 
hidden,  are  frightfully  prevalent.  The  Gospel  says 
it  is  a  "  shame  even  to  speak  of  the  things  done  by 
them  in  secret."  What  can  we  think  when,  opening 
a  Muslim  law-book  written  in  English  and  used  in 
Hindostan,  we  find  deliberate  provision  for  the  rec- 
ognition and  regulation  of  those  nameless  and 
abominable  crimes  which  in  Christian  lands  meet 
with  the  severest  punishment?  If  I  mistake  not,  this 
law  is  promulgated  and  executed  by  the  religious  au- 
thorities. 

Muslim  Intolerance. 

But  it  is  needless  to  dwell  longer  on  this  painful 
subject.  Often  have  you  revealed  your  inward  sor- 
row over  the  sad  state  of  Muslim  lands,  especially 
your  own  country.    As  a  man  and  a  patriot,  you  love 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  193 

your  people,  though  your  heart  breaks  with  despair 
over  their  wretched  and  hopeless  degradation.  Yet 
Islam  has  been  thoroughly  tried  here;  for  thirteen 
hundred  years  she  has  reigned  without  a  rival  and 
had  full  opportunity  to  develop  with  no  let  or  hin- 
drance. As  you  know,  it  is  the  paramount  faith; 
the  adherents  of  other  religions  only  exist  on  suffer- 
ance, theoretically  with  no  rights,  in  a  semi-servile 
state,  dependent  on  the  mercy  of  the  dominant  race. 
No  Muslim  is  allowed  to  change  his  belief,  on  pain  of 
death,  nor  is  he  permitted  to  hear  of  or  investigate 
the  truth  of  any  other  religion. 

Christianity  in  Great  Britain. 

About  the  same  time  that  the  conquering  sword 
introduced  Islam  into  your  country,  the  Gospel  en- 
tered the  British  Isles  with  no  weapon  save  the 
"  sword  of  the  Spirit,"  the  Word  of  God.  It  came 
with  persuasive  love  and  power  to  a  people  far  below 
the  grade  of  the  civilization  of  your  ancient  land, 
a  race  little  removed  from  the  level  of  savages,  wild 
and  idolatrous.  You  have  asked,  Where  are  the 
modern  miracles  of  Christianity?  Surely  the  mental, 
moral,  and  spiritual  change  wrought  by  the  Bible  on 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  and  the  manifest  blessings 
they  have  enjoyed  since  they  accepted  Christ,  may 
answer  your  question. 

It  is  true  that  Christian  countries  contain  much  of 
crime  and  evil,  because  no  nation,  as  such,  has  yet 


194  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

become  thoroughly  Christian.  The  kingdoms  of 
this  world  are  still  ruled  by  Satan ;  they  are  not  yet 
the  kingdoms  of  God  and  of  his  Christ.  No  church 
even  in  its  entirety  is  a  perfect  exemplification  of 
the  character  and  teachings  of  its  Divine  Founder. 
The  tares  flourish  among  the  wheat,  which  itself  is 
not  yet  fully  matured  and  ready  for  the  garner.  No 
individual  Christian  even  has  attained  to  the  perfec- 
tion which  is  set  before  him.  The  sins  of  so-called 
Christendom  are  black  enough,  but  they  constitute 
no  part  of  our  religion;  indeed,  they  are  flagrant 
transgressions  of  it,  and  as  such  always  strongly  for- 
bidden. But  polygamy,  slavery,  divorce,  religious 
war,  disregard  of  the  rights  of  non-Muslims,  are 
vital  and  essential  points  of  Islam,  practised  by  its 
founder  and  commander  in  its  sacred  book. 

It  is  not  fair  to  judge  your  religion  by  the  conduct 
and  character  of  all  its  adherents.  I  do  not  wish  you 
to  form  an  opinion  of  Christianity  from  the  lives  of 
many  who  profess  and  disgrace  its  name.  Let  us 
compare  those  who  have  most  truly  received  and 
most  deeply  drunk  of  the  spirit  of  their  respective 
faiths,  who  most  carefully  regard  the  precepts  and 
most  closely  imitate  the  founder  of  their  religion. 
We  fear  no  such  comparison  of  the  true  Christian 
with  the  true  Muslim. 

Nor  do  we  fear  any  examination  of  the  two  re- 
ligions as  to  their  power  of  renovating  and  purify- 
ing the  heart,  of  sust:iining  in  the  trials  and  exigen- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY,  195 

cies  of  life,  and  of  conquering  in  the  dread  hour  of 
death.    You  have  tried  Islam  many  years,  but,  after 
all,  confess  it  has  brought  no  real  peace  to  your  soul. 
You  have  said,  did  you  not  fear  to  rush  unbidden 
into  the  presence  of  a  justly  offended   God,   you 
would  gladly  throw  aside  life  as  a  burden  too  heavy 
to  be  borne.    But  the  Christian's  inheritance  is  peace, 
left  to  us  by  the  last  words  of  our  Saviour — John  xvi. 
S3 '   "  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in 
me  ve  might  have  peace.    In  the  world  ye  shall  have 
tribulation ;  but  be  of  good  cheer,  I  have  overcome 
the  world."     The  Christian  endures  the  ills  of  life 
without  a  murmur,  sustained  by  a  secret  joy;  in  his 
cross  is  a  hidden  sweetness,  since  its  heavier  weight 
is  sustained  by  an  invisible  companion  and  lightened 
by  an  enduring  hope.     He  knows  his  trials  are  or- 
dained by  infinite  wisdom  and  love,  to  secure  his 
final  perfection  and  harmonious  relation  to  God ;  he 
anticipates  endless  holiness  and  happiness  in  the  so- 
ciety and  under  the  rule  of  his  adored  Redeemer. 
I  Peter  i.  8,  9:  "  Whom  not  having  seen,  ye  love; 
in  whom,  though  now  ye  see  him  not,  yet  believing, 
ye  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory : 
receiving  the  end  of  your  faith,  even  the  salvation  of 
your  souls." 

Volumes  of  evidence  might  be  adduced  to  show 
the  holy  lives  and  triumphant  deaths  of  Christians. 
My  own  eyes  have  repeatedly  seen  how 


196 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

"Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 
Seem  soft  as   downy  pillows   are." 


Nay,  more,  the  departing  believer  often  expe- 
riences such  rapturous  joy,  such  foretastes  of  eter- 
nal bliss,  that  death  is  no  more  death,  but  truly 
*'  swallowed  up  in  victory."  The  wondering  eye- 
witnesses of  such  a  scene  can  only  exclaim,  "  Let  me 
die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end 
be  like  his."  And  why  should  not  he  rejoice  who 
can  say,  "  The  eternal  God  is  my  refuge,  and  under- 
neath are  the  everlasting  arms  ?  "  ''  Whom  have  I  in 
heaven  but  thee?  and  there  is  none  upon  earth  that 
I  desire  beside  thee.  My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth, 
but  God  is  the  strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion 
for  ever."  ''  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil :  for  thou 
art  with  me :  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 

In  the  New  Testament  the  Christian  is  never 
spoken  of  as  dying,  for  the  brief  sojourn  of  our  Lord 
within  the  realm  of  death  has  robbed  the  enemy  of 
his  terrors.  Christ  is  risen!  his  body  rests  in  no 
earthly  grave :  "  He  is  ascended  on  high,  leading 
captivity  captive." 

But  the  body  of  Muhammad  has  long  lain  at 
Medina,  and  the  pilgrimages  made  to  his  tomb  and 
to  those  of  his  successors  tell  us  that  your  hopes  rest 
on  dead  saviours,  who  could  not  rescue  themselves 
from  death  and  the  grave. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  197 

Islam  in  Death, 

You  know  better  than  I  what  hope  or  comfort 
your  rehgion  offers  in  the  last  hour  to  the  trembhng 
spirit,  bowed  under  a  load  of  guilt  and  apprehension, 
and  what  are  its  consolations  for  the  survivors.  I 
have  seen  the  deep  gloom  cast  by  the  mention  of 
death  on  your  people,  the  unreasoning  terror  they 
manifest  on  its  occurrence  in  their  homes,  and  have 
heard  the  wild  cries  of  anguish  when  the  blow  has 
fallen,  and  they  seem  to  "  mourn  as  those  without 
hope."  That  event  must  indeed  be  invested  with 
dark  forebodings  to  those  who  dare  not  say  of  the 
dead  that  their  immediate  salvation  is  assured.  I 
have  heard  them  comfort  themselves  with  the  assur- 
ance that  whoever  recites  the  Muslim  Creed  in 
death,  the  Kalima  Shahidat,  "  There  is  no  God  but 
God,  and  Muhammad  is  the  Apostle  of  God,"  will 
find  his  sins  fall  from  him  as  the  leaves  of  a  tree  in 
autumn.  But,  alas !  if  the  analogy  were  true,  when 
the  tree  buds  again,  its  leaf  and  fruit  will  be  un- 
changed. He  who  has  no  guarantee  of  a  radical 
change  of  nature  must  needs  fear  that,  as  he  has 
sinned  here,  he  will  continue  to  do  so  in  another 
world.  Where  sin  remains,  must  remain  alienation 
from  God,  punishment  and  sorrow. 

The  traditions  which  we  may  take  as  representing 
the  popular  belief  are  far  from  reassuring.  In  the 
Hyat  ul  Kuloob  is  written  that  Salman,  the  freed- 


198  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

man  of  the  Prophet  of  God,  before  his  death, 
went  to  a  cemetery  to  interrogate  the  dead.  "  One 
in  his  grave  began  to  speak,  saying,  *  Lo,  I  hear  thy 
words,  and  will  quickly  answer.  Ask  what  thou 
wilt.'  Salman  rejoined,  *  O  thou  that  speakest  after 
death  and  its  sorrows,  art  thou  of  Paradise,  or  of 
hell  ?  '  The  dead  replied,  '  I  am  of  the  number  on 
whom  God  has  bestowed  favor  and  in  his  mercy 
introduced  to  Paradise.'  Salman  said,  '  Thou  ser- 
vant of  God,  describe  to  me  what  thou  hast  experi- 
enced.' He  answered,  *  Verily,  cutting  the  body  to 
pieces  many  times  with  shears  is  easier  than  the 
agonies  of  death.  Know  thou  the  Most  High  had 
bestowed  divine  favors  on  me  in  this  world,  and  I 
had  well  discharged  my  duties.  I  read  the  Quran, 
and  was  very  dutiful  to  my  father  and  mother.  I 
avoided  what  was  forbidden,  and  feared  to  be  unjust 
and  oppressive  to  servants.  Night  and  day  I  took 
pains  and  strove  to  find  out  and  do  what  was  law- 
ful, through  fear  of  standing  before  God  to  be  ques- 
tioned. The  angel  of  death  now  approached  and 
gradually  drew  my  soul  from  my  body.  Every  pull 
he  made  was  equal  in  agony  to  all  the  pains  under 
heaven.  This  continued  till  he  reached  my  heart, 
when  he  signed  to  me  with  a  dart,  which,  if  he  had 
laid  upon  the  mountains,  would  have  melted  them, 
and  forcibly  drew  my  soul  from  my  nostrils.'  "  He 
then  tells  of  his  burial,  of  the  dreadful  ordeal  of  ex- 
amination by  the  two  angels  Munkir  and  Nakeer, 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  199 

who  question  him  of  his  faith  and  practice.  Of  the 
latter  angel  he  says,  "  He  then  laid  me  down  in  the 
grave,  and  said.  Lie  like  a  bridegroom.  At  my  head 
he  opened  a  door  to  Paradise,  and  at  my  feet  a  door 
to  hell,  and  said,  See  what  you  will  enjoy  and  what 
you  are  saved  from.  He  then  closed  the  opening  to 
hell  and  expanded  the  gate  of  Paradise,  from  which 
its  delightful  perfume  was  wafted  to  me.  He  then 
enlarged  my  grave  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see,  and 
left  me." 

State  of  Muslim  Women, 

Of  one  feature  of  Islam  I  am,  perhaps,  better 
fitted  to  judge  than  you,  wath  your  limited  circle 
of  female  acquaintance:  that  is,  the  effect  it  pro- 
duces on  the  character  and  condition  of  woman. 
As  a  rule,  where  the  provisions  of  the  law  are  strictly 
carried  out,  only  your  wife,  mother,  sister,  and 
daughter  can  speak  with  you  freely  and  with  im- 
veiled  faces.  You  are  not  permitted  to  see  the 
countenances  of  even  cousins  and  relatives  by  mar- 
riage; all  conversation  or  association  with  them  is 
watched  and  guarded  with  suspicious  espionage. 
You  have  not  concealed  from  me  your  very  un- 
favorable estimate  of  your  countrywomen,  even 
while  you  acknowledged  them  capable  of  better 
things.  But  you  have  never  lived  in  a  Christian 
land,  and  you  must  pardon  me  for  saying  your 
ideal  of  womanhood  cannot  be  so  high  as  if  you 


200  ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY. 

had  seen  it  developed  under  the  influence  of  light, 
liberty,  and  equal  legal  and  moral  rights.     Remem- 
bering  how   often   we   are   shocked   beyond   ex- 
pression by  the  unintentional  coarseness  and  un- 
conscious vulgarity,  the  low  standard  of  thought 
and  morals  betrayed  by  your  best,  most  amiable, 
cultured,  religious  ladies  in  even  a  short,   cere- 
monious    call;     remembering     howling     mobs     of 
ragged  village  women,  wild  with  curiosity,  steeped 
in  ignorance,  shameless  of  speech  and  manner,  and 
contrasting  them  with  the  same  classes  in  Christian 
lands,    we   are    forced    to    ask,    Whence   this    dif- 
ference?    Forgive    me    if    these    criticisms    seem 
harsh,  though  these  women  speak  of  themselves 
more  severely  than  I  should  venture  to  do.      "  We 
are  beasts,  we  are  donkeys,  what  do  we  know? 
what  can  we  do?  "    Their  husbands  seem  generally 
•  to  regard  them  as  a  necessary  evil,  something  to 
be  ashamed  of,   and  kept  in  the  background  as 
much  as  possible.     Seeing  this,  our  sisters,  many 
of  them  so  beautiful,  talented,  attractive,  gifted  by 
nature  with  every  requisite  of  a  graceful  and  vir- 
tuous womanhood,  we  are  filled  with  indignation 
at  their  imprisoned  and  degraded  condition,  treated 
as  if  unworthy  of  honor  or  confidence,  perpetu- 
ating  their   own   ignorance    and    superstition    not 
only  in  their  daughters,  but  in  their  sons.    But  such 
is  the  condition  of  woman,  and  even  worse  in  non- 
Christian  lands.     Jesus  alone  has  brought  her  into 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  201 

a  life  of  light,  liberty,  and  usefulness.  We  have 
learned  to  love  and  pity  many  of  these  women,  and 
have  entered  into  the  shadow  where  they  dwell 
under  a  habitual  consciousness  of  inferiority  and 
contempt.  We  have  seen  their  bitter  tears  and 
vain  struggles  on  the  entrance  of  a  rival  in  their 
homes,  we  have  heard  their  complaints  of  their 
prophet  and  their  attempts  to  console  themselves 
with  the  thought  that  the  Christian  woman,  if 
happier  here,  is  doomed  to  the  flames  of  hell,  while 
their  sorrows  will  earn  for  them  the  joys  of  Para- 
dise. We  know  the  insecurity  of  their  position, 
liable  to  divorce  at  the  pleasure  of  their  masters, 
thus  taught  to  separate  their  interests  from  those 
of  the  husband,  according  to  the  proverb,  "  Bring 
a  wife,  bring  an  enemy.  "  How  often  jealousy, 
deceit,  intrigue,  and  the  worst  passions  of  the 
human  heart  poison  and  destroy  the  happiness 
which  God  intended  to  spring  from  the  family  in- 
stitution !  It  is  not  always  thus :  there  are  homes 
where  the  wife  is  loved  and  respected,  the  husband 
honored  and  obeyed,  w^here  there  is  no  fear  of 
rivalry  or  desertion,  no  strife  between  the  children 
of  different  mothers.  But  such  rare  examples 
exist  in  spite  of  your  religion,  and  only  testify  that 
home  happiness  is  inseparable  from  permanence 
and  sacredness  in  the  marriage  relation.  A  family 
fully  governed  by  Christian  principle  must  needs 
be  pure  and  peaceful;    one  ruled  by  the  precepts 


202  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

and  permissions  of  the  Quran  must  be  like  that  of 
Muhammad  himself,  vexed  with  jealousy,  dis- 
sension, suspicion,  discontent,  and  scandal;  without 
any  convenient  Gabriel  to  lend  a  hand  in  its 
management.  No  race  can  expect  to  seclude,  sup- 
press, and  keep  in  ignorance  half  of  its  number 
without  paying  a  fearful  penalty.  If  a  young 
Muslim  is  educated,  enlightened,  where  can  he  find 
a  home  companion  to  understand,  to  sympathize 
with  him,  to  prove  herself  a  true  helpmeet  ?  Blind- 
folded, you  stretch  your  hand  into  the  darkness  to 
grasp  that  of  an  unknown  wife,  w4th  whom,  as  a 
rule,  you  have  never  exchanged  a  word,  or  even 
seen  her  face ;  of  whose  tastes,  qualities,  and  temper 
you  are  perfectly  ignorant,  and  who  may  cause  you 
untold  misery.  The  saddest  part  is  that  the  harem, 
the  curtain,  the  veil,  the  ignorance  of  women,  are 
essential  if  society  is  not  to  become  worse.  No 
greater  misfortune  could  befall  Muslim  women  in 
their  present  state  than  to  be  put  in  possession  of 
the  privileges  enjoyed  by  their  Christian  sisters. 
What  causes  this  difference  between  the  two? 
Why  can  one  woman  be  trusted  to  make  no  im- 
proper use  of  her  freedom,  while,  as  the  whole 
fabric  of  Muslim  society  seems  to  testify,  the  other 
cannot?  I  remember  a  Muslim  gentleman,  truly 
attached  to  his  beautiful  wife,  an  educated  woman, 
by  the  standard  of  this  land,  and  a  true  companion 
to  him.     He  said  once:     ''I  would  gladly  see  my 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  203 

wife  free  as  the  Christian  ladies  are.  The  veil  and 
the  harem  curtain  are  no  pleasure  to  me,  I  can 
trust  her;  but  the  state  of  society  is  such,  it  would 
not  be  safe,  I  should  be  killed  for  her  sake." 

Fundamental  Teaching  of  Christianity, 

But  let  us  come  to  that  which  fundamentally 
distinguishes  true  Christianity  from  all  other 
religions.  We  say,  true  Christianity,  because 
much  that  goes  by  that  name  is  counterfeit,  a 
baptized  heathenism,  often  possessing  much  in 
common  with  Islam  and  idolatry.  The  unique 
doctrine  of  the  Bible  is  that  of  the  new  birth.  By 
this  we  understand  that  a  lost  and  ruined  sinner, 
totally  unable  to  help  himself,  may  be  made  over, 
have  another  chance,  begin  again.  Nay,  more, 
that  by  God's  free  grace,  he  may  attain  a  higher 
condition  than  if  Adam  had  not  sinned,  becoming 
"  an  heir  of  God,"  "  a  partaker  of  the  divine  nature," 
dead  to  sin  for  evermore,  alive  to  righteousness. 
Jesus  brought  us  this  blessed  hope,  and,  by  the  gift 
of  his  indwelling  Spirit,  makes  this  new  life  a 
matter  of  personal  consciousness  to  myriads  of 
men,  women  and  children,  who  know  and  can  wit- 
ness that  they  have  received  and  enjoy  it. 

Under  the  influence  of  Christ,  the  drunkard 
becomes  abstinent,  the  libertine  chaste,  the  mur- 
derer loving,   the  thief  honest,   the  liar  truthful. 


204  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY, 

As  the  Muslim  says  of  the  good  he  cannot  attain, 
"  Satan  will  not  let  me,"  the  Christian  says  of  the 
evil  from  which  he  is  withheld,  ''J^^^s  will  not 
let  me." 

Our  Lord,  constantly  working  these  spiritual 
miracles,  lives  on  the  earth  to-day  as  a  personal 
force  of  infinite  power,  a  real  and  present  perso- 
nality to  his  obedient  subjects. 

Does  the  Quran  oflfer  us  any  substitute  for  this 
doctrine,  or  does  it  even  recognize  its  necessity? 
Search  its  contents  from  beginning  to  end,  and 
you  will  see  guilty  man  practically  left  to  be  his 
own  savior. 

Christianity  Judaism  Developed. 

Till  Christ  appeared,  this  transcendent  mercy 
of  God  to  the  sinner  was  conserved,  lying  dormant, 
as  it  were,  concealed  within  the  ceremonial  law  and 
the  rigid  observances  of  Judaism,  as  the  germ 
within  the  seed,  the  bird  in  the  egg.  His  magic 
touch  evoked  the  light  and  beauty  of  Christianity, 
the  flower  and  crown,  the  full  development  of  what 
was  first  entrusted  to  the  guardian  care  of  Israel, 
then  thrown  open  to  all  the  world.  The  types  and 
shadows  then  vanished;  the  ceremonial  law  was  no 
longer  needed.  Men  learned  "  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  not  meat  and  drink,  but  righteousness,  and 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." — Rom.  xiv.  17. 
They  understood  *'  He  is  not  a  Jew,  which  is  one 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  205 

outwardly;  neither  is  that  circumcision  which  is 
outward  in  the  flesh.  But  he  is  a  Jew,  which  is 
one  inwardly;  and  circumcision  is  that  of  the  heart, 
in  the  spirit  and  not  in  the  letter,  whose  praise  is 
not  of  man  but  of  God." 

Hebrews  ix.  8-12:  " the  first  tabernacle  was 

as  yet  standing,  which  was  a  figure  for  the  time 
then  present,  in  which  were  offered  both  gifts  and 
sacrifices,  that  could  not  make  him  that  did  the 
service  perfect,  as  pertaining  to  the  conscience: 
which  stood  only  in  meats  and  drinks,  and 
divers  washings,  and  carnal  ordinances,  imposed 
on  them  till  the  time  of  reformation.  But  Christ 
being  come,  a  high  priest  of  good  things  to 
come,  by  a  greater  and  more  perfect  tabernacle, 
not  made  with  hands,  that  is  to  say,  not  of  this 
building,  neither  by  the  blood  of  goats  and 
calves,  but  by  his  own  blood  he  entered  in  once 
into  the  holy  place,  having  obtained  eternal  re- 
demption for  us.  For  if  the  blood  of  bulls  and 
of  goats,  and  the  ashes  of  a  heifer  sprinkling  the 
unclean,  sanctifieth  to  the  purification  of  the  flesh, 
how  much  more  shall  the  blood  of  Christ,  who 
through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without 
spot  to  God,  purge  your  conscience  from  dead 
works  to  serve  the  living  God !" 

The  ceremonial  law,  we  must  not  forget,  was 
given  only  to  the  Jews,  and  none  were  bound  to 
regard  or  observe  it,  or  could  do  so  acceptably, 


2o6  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

except  born  Jews  by  birth  and  proselytes.  We  are 
taught  it  was  given  to  meet  a  temporary  want:  to 
show  man  his  need  of  a  Saviour ;  and  to  prefigure  an 
atoning  sacrifice  yet  to  be  offered. 

Salvation  by  Faith   Taught  from  the  Beginning, 

Yet,  from  the  beginning,  God  left  not  unrevealed 
to  man  the  true  way  of  salvation,  nor  allowed  him 
to  suppose  it  could  be  attained  by  his  own  efforts. 
These  were  aptly  typified  by  the  frail,  withering  fig 
leaves  with  which  Adam  and  Eve  labored  to  hide 
their  nakedness  after  the  fall.  A  pitying  God 
clothed  them  with  the  warm  and  durable  skins  of 
innocent  animals,  whose  blood  flowed  before  the 
gift  could  be  made.  Have  you  never  wondered 
that  of  all  animals,  man  alone  is  compelled  to  use 
artificial  coverings?  Is  there  here  no  hint  of  a 
spiritual  truth,  that  he  has  no  merit  of  his  own, 
and  must  receive  his  robe  of  righteousness,  im- 
puted and  imparted  from  God  as  a  free  and  un- 
deserved gift,  if  he  would  not  suffer  eternal  shame? 

Salvation  by  faith :  not  the  intellectual  assent  to 
dogma,  but  the  loving  and  obedient  trust  of  the 
soul,  tried  and  found  to  control  the  life,  linking 
the  frail  finite  creature  with  the  Holy  and  Infinite 
Most  High  by  a  living  bond — this  is  the  very  warp 
and  woof  of  Old  and  New  Testaments.  Four 
times  their  pages  repeat,  "  The  just  shall  live  by 
faith." 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  207 

Four  hundred  and  thirty  years  before  the  giv- 
ing of  the  Mosaic  law,  it  was  said  of  Abraham, 
Gen.  XV.  6:  "And  he  beUeved  in  the  Lord,  and 
He  counted  it  to  him  for  righteousness."  Chris- 
tianity returns  to  Abraham,  but  Muhammad's 
search  for  truth  never  brings  him  to  the  land  of 
Canaan  and  the  promised  possession  of  Mount  Zion. 
Like  Ishmael,  he  wanders  in  the  desert  of  Arabia, 
and  coming  to  Mount  Sinai,  hearing  only  the  law 
given  to  Moses,  and  that  imperfectly,  accepts  it 
superficially,  apprehended  as  the  best  God  has  for 
man.  He  hears  the  ready  response  of  the  people 
to  Jehovah's  awful  demand  for  perfection,  and 
answers  with  them  in  their  hasty  ignorance,  ''  All 
that  the  Lord  hath  said,  we  will  do  and  be 
obedient."  He  is  ready  to  join  them,  or  rather 
to  make  an  independent  promise  of  his  own,  taking 
the  place  in  God's  house  of  a  sinner  saved  by  his 
own  works  and  a  vague  confidence  in  what  he 
calls  the  mercy  of  God.  He  fails  to  remark  that 
after  their  rash  promise,  Moses  sprinkled  them 
with  "the  blood  of  the  covenant,"  a  significant 
intimation  of  the  only  road  to  acceptable  obe- 
dience. 

The  Christian  is  a  son,  twice  born,  once  of  the 
flesh,  again  of  the  Spirit.  He  has  his  place  in  the 
house,  not  as  a  hireling,  but  by  birth.  Long  ago, 
for  those  who  could  see,  this  was  enacted  in  parable 
when  Ishmael  and  his  mother  were  sent  portionless 


2o8  ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

away  from  the  tents  of  Abraham,  as  told  in  the 
twenty-first  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  explained 
Gal.  iv.  22-26,  29-31:  "For  it  is  written,  that 
Abraham  had  two  sons,  the  one  by  a  bondmaid, 
the  other  by  a  free  woman.  But  he  who  was  of 
the  bondwoman  was  born  after  the  flesh ;  but  he  of 
the  free  woman  by  promise." 

"  Which  things  are  an  allegory :  for  these  are  the 
two  covenants:  the  one  from  the  Mount  Sinai 
which  gendereth  to  bondage,  which  is  Hagar. 
For  this  Hagar  is  Mount  Sinai  in  Arabia,  and 
answereth  to  Jerusalem,  which  now  is,  and  is  in 
bondage  with  her  children.  But  Jerusalem  which 
is  above  is  free,  which  is  the  mother  of  us  all.  But 
as  then,  he  that  was  born  after  the  flesh  persecuted 
him  that  was  born  after  the  Spirit,  even  so  it  is  now. 
Nevertheless,  what  saith  the  scripture  ?  Cast  out  the 
bondwoman  and  her  son ;  for  the  son  of  the  bond- 
woman shall  not  be  heir  with  the  son  of  the  free 
woman.  So  then,  brethren,  we  are  not  children  of 
the  bondwoman,  but  of  the  free." 

''  What  Shall  I  Do  to  be  Saved?  " 

The  one  question  our  race  is  ever  laboring  to 
answer  is,  "How  shall  man  be  just  with  God?" 
Turning  to  Islam  with  this  query,  we  are  referred 
^  first  to  dead  works  of  the  flesh,  already  thoroughly 
tried  and  found  inadequate  to  meet  the  case.  As 
well  return  the  radiant   flower  to   the   discarded 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  209 

husk  which  protected  its  germination,  or  compress 
the  soaring,  singing  bird  in  the  narrow  confines  of 
its  outgrown  shell !  Failing  the  obedience  re- 
quired, man  is  to  trust  to  a  vague  hope  of  the 
mercy  of  God,  earned  by  repentance,  not  neces- 
sarily a  forsaking  of  sin,  but  a  sense  of  regret, 
evinced  by  tears  and  other  outward  demonstra- 
tions. But,  alas !  who  knows  when  he  has  repented 
enough?  If  God  is  merciful,  he  is  also  just;  the 
sentence  has  never  been  repealed,  "  The  soul  that 
sinneth,  he  shall  die.  "  This  means  the  eternal 
cutting  ofif  the  sinner  from  the  source  of  true  life, 
and  finds  its  ready  illustration  in  the  dry  and  lifeless 
branches  we  use  for  fuel.* 

Has  Muhammad  shown  his  worthiness  to  dis- 
place Jesus,  and  Islam  to  supersede  Christianity? 
If  it  be  God's  last  word  to  m::n,  it  should  as  far 
surpass  our  religion  and  its  Founder  as  he  excelled 
Moses  and  his  dispensation.  Equality  is  not  suf- 
ficient; the  inference  of  superiority  cannot  be  toler- 
ated for  a  moment. 

True  and  False  Religions, 

To  my  mind,  all  religions  fall  into  two  classes. 
In  the  first,  God  saves  his  ruined  creatures  by  free 
grace,  by  the  merits  and  death  of  his  incarnate 
Son,  "  imputed  to  us  and  received  by  faith  alone." 
A  heart  renewed  and  transformed  by  so  great  love 

*See  note  on  page  223. 


2IO  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

ascribes  the  glory  to  him  alone.  In  the  other,  man 
is  glorified  as  his  own  savior,  his  own  righteous- 
ness, or  that  of  other  mere  creatures,  laying  God 
under  obligation  to  save  and  grant  him  eternal 
felicity.  Salvation  is  not  a  gift,  or  only  partly  so; 
it  becomes  a  debt  owed  by  the  Creator  to  the  pos- 
sessors of  accumulated  merit,  which,  they  fondly 
believe,  outweighs  their  actual  transgressions. 
These  views,  held  under  a  great  variety  of  outward 
forms,  are  characterized  by  a  low  estimate  of  sin. 
They  ignore  the  hereditary  taint  and  corruption  of 
our  nature,  wherein  lie  boundless  possibilites  of 
disobedience  to  God  and  disorder  to  his  creation. 
They  overlook  the  fact  that  not  only  does  the  law 
require  us  to  refrain  from  its  violation,  it  expects 
of  us  perfect  obedience  to  Its  commands,  and  con- 
formity to  its  spirit.  To  the  helpless  penitent, 
trusting  the  authenticated  Saviour  provided  by 
divine  love  and  wisdom,  full  forgiveness  is  granted ; 
of  him  who  prefers  to  be  saved  by  his  own 
righteousness,  or  that  of  unauthorized  mediators, 
or  by  his  own  sufferings  in  purgatorial  flames, 
the  debt  will  be  exacted  to  the  very  last  farthing. 
We  shall  not  be  measured  by  the  low  standard  of 
not  having  been  as  bad  as  we  could,  but  by  the 
higher  one  of  the  law's  demand  for  absolute  moral 
perfection.  He  who  failed  of  being  w^hat  his 
Maker  meant  him  to  be  will  be  rejected,  and  his 
good  qualities  and  deeds  may  be  likened  to  the 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  21 1 

two  or  three  grains  of  silver  found  in  a  counterfeit 
coin,  which  do  not  persuade  any  one  to  accept  it  as 
genuine. 

The  only  man  who  has  ever  fully  met  all  the 
requirements  of  the  divine  law  of  perfection  is  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ;  only  as  identified  with  him 
can  we  hope  for  safety. 

You  have  sometimes  expressed  the  hope  that 
both  our  religions  may  finally  prove  to  be  true — 
yours  for  you,  mine  for  me;  that  all  men,  if  only 
sincere  and  obedient  to  their  respective  faiths, 
may,  by  diverse  roads,  meet  at  the  same  goal. 
One  or  two  doubtful  passages  in  the  Quran  may 
seem  to  encourage  this  idea,  in  the  case  of  Jews 
and  Christians,  but  the  Bible  does  not  countenance 
it  for  a  moment.  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and 
the  life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by 
me." — John  xiv.  6.  "  Neither  is  there  salvation 
in  any  other:  for  there  is  none  other  name  under 
heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be 
saved." — Acts  iv.  12.  These  are  but  two  of  many 
unequivocal  utterances  which  have  made  Chris- 
tianity the  most  fervently  hated  religion  in  the 
world.  It  must  be  all  or  nothing :  it  "  brooks  no 
rival  on  the  throne."  As  you  know,  Islam  occu- 
pies exactly  the  same  position,  but  carries  it  to  the 
extent  of  declaring  herself  divinely  commissioned 
to  destroy  those  who  reject  her  claims.  Instead 
of  the  "  foolishness  of  preaching,"  or  rather  per- 


212  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

haps  to  reinforce  it,  she  uses  the  logic  of  the  sword. 
This  is  no  empty  threat,  or  unapplied  theory.  In 
large  tracts  of  the  fairest  portions  of  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa  it  has  been  enforced  in  tears  and  blood 
and  fire;  the  shrieks  of  the  captive  and  clanking 
chain  of  the  prisoner  have  echoed  back  its  war 
cry,  and  emphasized  its  intolerance  of  all  faith  but 
its  own.  No,  my  friend,  our  religions  are  enemies 
to  the  death,  and  must  so  remain  to  the  end:  no 
uncertain  one;  for  Christianity,  though  by  her 
nature  and  laws  debarred  from  contending  with 
an  arm  of  flesh,  has  her  own  peculiar  weapons  with 
which  she  must  finally  conquer.  Your  kindness 
of  heart  would  fain  hope  a  better  fate  for  those 
whom  you  esteem  and  love,  and  who  obstinately 
reject  your  religion.  But  that  faith  itself  offers  them 
nothing  but  eternal  hell-fire. 

I  beg  you  to  be  assured  this  letter  is  written  with 
none  but  the  kindest  feelings  to  your  country  and 
its  people:  a  race  possessing  many  fine  qualities, 
and  ability  to  be  a  blessing  to  the  world,  a  country 
dear  to  me  as  my  own,  the  home  of  my  deliberate 
choice.  Nor  is  there  any  thought  of  boasting,  or 
fancied  superiority.  When  the  Anglo-Saxon  re- 
calls his  savage  and  debased  heathen  ancestry,  he 
has  no  cause  for  pride,  only  for  deep  humility  and 
thankfulness.  And  should  he  not  be  among  the 
foremost  to  communicate  the  blessings  he  has  re- 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  213 

ceived  to  every  nation,   at  any  cost,   even  to  the 
sacrifice  of  life  itself? 

How  deeply  should  I  regret  to  have  learned  so 
much  of  the  unrest  and  hopelessness  of  your  life, 
were  there  no  remedy  to  offer !  Knowing  of  such 
a  remedy,  having  tried  it  myself,  I  cannot  but  urge 
it  upon  you.  It  may,  it  is  true,  cost  you  all  your 
earthly  possessions ;  you  may,  as  others  have  done, 
literally  lay  down  all,  but  Jesus  is  worth  it ! 

The  heart  is  the  citadel  of  our  life,  the  con- 
troller of  the  springs  of  thought  and  action.  The 
head  may  assent  to  overpowering  evidence,  but 
the  heart  only  yields  to  personal  experience.  You 
are  not  invited  to  a  religion,  an  intellectual  per- 
suasion, a  human  society,  but  to  a  personal  relation 
with  a  personal  and  ever-present  Friend,  found 
of  all  who  seek  him  with  the  whole  heart. 

The  whole  world  is  well  lost  to  him  who  has 
discovered  the  love  of  God  in  Christ,  the  priceless 
pearl,  the  hidden  treasure,  our  joy,  our  life,  our 
crown,  and  our  eternal  portion.  May  you  seek  and 
be  found  of  him,  and  find  in  him  the  Good  Shep- 
herd of  the  wandering  sheep ! 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  21 5 

APPENDIX. 

Note  to  Page  4. 

The  division  of  Islam  into  the  great  rival  sects  of  Shiah 
and  Sunni  dates  from  soon  after  the  death  of  Muhammad. 
The  Shiahs  reject  his  first  three  successors,  Abu  Bekr,  Omar, 
and  Osman,  and  accept  his  son-in-law  and  cousin  Ali,  the 
husband  of  Fatima  and  father  of  Hassan  and  Houssain.  The 
Sunnis  accept  the  historical  succession  of  Caliphs.  Marked 
differences  exist  in  the  theological  views  of  the  two  parties, 
and  great  bitterness  and  hostility  characterize  their  mutual 
relations. 

Note  to  Page  59. 

Omar  Ibn  Khatab  says :  "  I  accorded  with  my  cherisher — 
i.e.,  God — in  three  things.  One  is  that  I  said,  *0  messenger 
of  God !  if  we  were  to  say  our  prayers  in  Abraham's  place,  it 
would  be  better.'  Then  a  revelation  came  down,  '  Take  the 
place  of  Abraham  for  the  place  of  prayer.' 

"  The  second  is  that  I  said  :  *  O  messenger  of  God  !  good  and 
bad  people  come  to  your  house,  and  I  do  not  see  that  it  is  fit- 
ting; therefore,  if  you  order  your  women  to  be  shut  up.  it  will 
be  better.'    Then  the  revelation  for  doing  so  came  down. 

"The  third  is  that  his  Majesty's  wives  were  all  agreed  in  a 
story  about  his  drinking  honey,  and  he  had  vowed  never  to 
drink  it  more.  Then  I  said  to  his  Majesty's  wives,  '  Should 
the  Prophet  divorce  you,  God  will  give  him  better  in  ex- 
change !  '  Then  a  revelation  came  down  agreeing  with  what 
I  said." 

Ayesha  said :  "  I  was  reflecting  on  those  women  who  had 
given  themselves  to  the  Prophet,  and  said,  *  What !  does  a 
woman  give  herself  away?  '     Then  the  revelation  descended. 


2i6  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

'Thou  mayest  decline  for  the  present  whom  thou  wilt  of  them, 
and  thou  mayest  take  to  thy  bed  her  whom  thou  wilt,  and 
whomsoever  thou  shalt  long  for  of  those  thou  hast  before 
neglected,  and  this  shall  be  no  crime  in  thee.'  " — S.  XXXIII. 
51.  "  I  see  nothing  in  which  your  God  doth  not  hasten  to 
please  you;  whatever  you  wish  he  doeth." — Faith  of  Islam, 
page  58,  second  edition. 


Note  to  Page  yj. 

"  The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  vitalizes  and  impassionates  the 
doctrine  of  God.  It  discloses  among  the  several  persons  of 
the  one  Divine  Essence  the  interplay  of  thought  and  affection, 
the  blessedness  of  eternal  fellowship,  the  keen  interest  of 
mutual  counsel  and  purpose.  It  reveals  a  God  who  is  self- 
sufficient  and  eternally  blessed;  for  even  before  creation  He 
was  not  solitary,  but  dwelt  in  the  felicity  of  a  divine  com- 
panionship, a  glory  which  is  described  by  the  Son  in  speaking 
to  the  Father  as  '  the  glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the 
world  was.'  As  one  has  said,  *  Within  the  supernal  unity 
there  are  three  equal  in  power  and  glory,  of  whom  "  none  is 
before  or  after  other,  none  greater  or  less  than  another,"  and 
between  these  there  abides  an  infinite  complacency,  with  an 
infinite  delight.  Theirs  is  the  ineffable  joy  of  forever  giving 
and  forever  getting.  Theirs  is  mutual  love,  theirs  is  eternal 
sympathy,  community  of  knowledge,  consent  of  will,  identity 
of  character;  all  the  tenderness  and  all  the  unselfishness  of  a 
life  which  has  leave  to  go  out  toward  others,  is  not  locked  up 
in  hopeless  silence.  God  is  one,  and  yet,  within  himself,  God 
has  never  been  alone.'  Our  thought  is  likely  to  be  confused 
on  this  subject  by  the  fact  that  with  us  each  person  is  a  sep- 
arate being  with  intelligence  and  will  of  his  own.  We  can  see 
how  separate  persons  may  have  a  similar  nature,  how,  in  fact, 
all  of  mankind  do  possess  in  a  sense  the  same  human  nature, 
and  yet  each  individual  is  a  distinct  being.  But  this  is  not 
what  is  meant  by  unity  of  nature  in  the  Godhead,  for  if  the 
union  of  the  three  were  not  closer  than  this  we  should  have 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  217 

three  Gods.  The  nature  of  the  three  persons  of  the  Godhead 
is  not  merely  the  same  in  kind,  but  one  in  substance,  the  union 
is  not  merely  specific,  it  is  numerical ;  it  involves  not  similarity 
but  identity.  The  human  copy  follows  the  divine  prototype 
afar  ofif,  and  follows  it  only  a  small  part  of  the  way.  And 
hence  the  word  '  person,'  though  the  best  word  we  can  find, 
suggests  to  our  mind  human  limitations  and  separations  which 
do  not  belong  to  God.  The  distinction  of  persons  in  the  God- 
head is  such  as  to  justify  and  necessitate  the  use  of  the  per- 
sonal pronouns  '  I,  Thou,  He,'  and  yet  their  unity  is  so  abso- 
lute that  there  is  to  the  three  but  one  intelligence,  one  will, 
one  action.  What  the  Father  knows,  the  Son  and  Holy  Spirit 
know;  what  the  Son  wills,  the  Father  and  Holy  Spirit  will; 
what  the  Spirit  does,  the  Father  and  Son  do. 

"And  so  of  the  divine  attributes.  When  we  say  God  is  holy 
or  omnipresent  or  almighty,  we  mean  it  not  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  rest,  or  in  a  greater  degree  than  the  rest,  but  of  all. 
That  this  transcends  human  experience  and  earthly  analogies 
we  readily  admit.  With  man  it  is  impossible,  but  there  is  no 
reason  why  it  should  be  impossible  with  God,  for  God  is  not  to 
be  measured  by  our  mode  of  existence." — Rev.  W.  B.  Noble, 
D.D.,  Occident  of  November  18,  1897. 


Note  to  Page  125. 

"  The  Suras  are  not  arranged  in  chronological  order,  but 
according  to  their  length.  As  a  general  rule  the  shorter 
Suras,  which  contain  the  theology  of  Islam,  belong  to  the 
Meccan  period  of  the  Prophet's  career,  and  the  longer  ones, 
relating  chiefly  to  social  duties  and  relationships,  to  the  or- 
ganization of  Islam  as  a  civil  polity,  to  the  time  when  he  was 
consolidating  his  power  at  Medina.  The  best  way,  therefore, 
to  read  the  Quran  is  to  begin  at  the  end.  Carlyle,  referring 
to  the  confused  mass  of  *  endless  iterations,  long-windedness, 
entanglement,  most  crude,  incondite,'  says:  'Nothing  but  a 
sense  of  duty  could  carry  any  European  through  the  Quran. 


2i8  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY: 

When    rearranged    the   book   becomes    more   intelligible.' " — 
Sell's  Faith  of  Islam,  pages  68,  69. 


Note  to  Page  128. 

"  There  is  no  evidence  that  Muhammad  had  any  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  Old  and  New  Testament  Scriptures. 
There  is  only  one  quotation  in  the  Quran  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  that  is  a  passage  from  Psalm  xxxviii.  29,  which  is 
quoted  in  Sura  XXL  105 :  '  Since  the  law  was  given  we  have 
written  in  the  Psalms  that  "  my  servants,  the  righteous,  shall 
inherit  the  earth."  '  There  are  a  few  apparent  references  to 
the  New  Testament,  such  as  in  the  words,  '  Nor  shall  they 
enter  Paradise  till  the  camel  passeth  through  the  eye  of  the 
needle.' — Sura  VII.  38.  The  poetical  parts  of  the  Quran  are 
the  Prophet's  own  creation;  for  the  rest  he  was  indebted  to 
the  Jewish  traditions  based  on  the  Talmud.  The  Babylonian 
Gemara  was  finished  about  the  year  530  a.d.,  the  Jerusalem 
Gemara  in  430  a.d.,  and  the  Mishna  about  220  a.d.  All  of 
these,  therefore,  were  available.  Other  portions  of  the  Quran 
are  derived  from  stories  found  in  the  Apocryphal  Gospels, 
Christian  legends  and  Zoroastrian  tales,  to  which  latter  refer- 
ence seems  to  be  made  in — '  The  unbelievers  say,  "  Of  old  have 
we  been  promised  this,  we  and  our  sires  of  old ;  it  is  but  tales 
of  the  ancients  "  '  (Sura,  XXVIL  70).  Many  also  of  Muham- 
mad's friends  were  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  and  some  of 
them  became  Christians.  There  were  also  Jewish  tribes  in 
Arabia,  with  whom  the  Prophet  came  into  contact,  and  with 
whom  he  was  for  a  while  friendly.  Apart  from  the  general 
conception  of  the  unity  of  God  and  other  dogmas  which  Islam 
has  borrowed  from  Judaism,  many  of  the  less  important  mat- 
ters of  belief  are  clearly  taken  from  Talmudic  sources,  such 
as  the  story  of  the  angels,  Harut  and  Marut  (Sura  II.  96), 
the  seven  heavens  and  hells  (Suras  XVII.  46;  XV.  44)  ;  the 
position  of  the  throne  of  God  at  the  creation  (Sura  XI.  9)  ; 
Al  Araf,  or  the  partition  between  heaven  and  hell  (Sura  VII. 
44).    The  following  also  may  be  traced  to  Zoroastrian  sources : 


ISLAM    AND    CHRISTIANITY.  219 

the  Jinn  or  Genii  (Sura  VI.  100)  :  the  Hoiiris,  which  are 
identical  with  the  Parikas  of  the  Avesta,  and  the  Peris  of  mod- 
ern Persia,  beings  '  endowed  with  seductive  beauty,  dwelling 
in  the  air  and  attaching  themselves  to  the  stars  and  light' ;  the 
angel  of  death  ;  and  the  bridge  (Sirat).  The  teaching  generally 
about  evil  spirits  is  derived  from  the  same  source.  In  fact,  the 
early  adversaries  of  the  Prophet  accused  him  of  having  con- 
federates, and  spoke  of  his  revelations  as  a  collection  of  fables 
and  mere  poetical  utterances.  Thus,  '  The  infidels  say,  "  This 
Quran  is  a  mere  fraud  of  his  own  devising,  and  others  have 
helped  him  with  it.  .  .  .  Tales  of  the  ancients  that  he  hath 
put  in  writing,  and  they  were  dictated  to  him  morn  and  eve."  ' 
(Sura  XXV.  5-6).  The  Quran  itself  bears  internal  evidence 
of  the  great  skill  with  which  Muhammad  formed  the  eclectic 
system  of  Islam,  which  has  been  well  described  as  '  a  corrupt 
form  of  late  Judaism,  with  which  ideas  and  practices  derived 
from  Arabian  and  Persian  heathenism,  and  in  one  or  two  in- 
stances from  heretical  books,  have  been  mingled.'  " — Sell's 
Faith  of  Islam,  second  edition,  pages  13- 1 5- 


Note  to  Page  174. 

Dr.  Wherry  comments  thus  on  Sura  LIIL,  v.  11  (vol.  iv., 
"  Commentary  on  Quran,"  page  91)  : 

"  The  heart  of  Muhammad  did  not  falsely  represent  that 
which  he  saw. 

"That  is,  Muhammad  was  not  the  subject  of  any  illusion, 
but  saw  it  in  reality.  He  was  not  mistaken  as  to  what  he 
saw.  We  have  here,  then,  the  distinct  and  positive  assertion 
on  the  part  of  Muhammad  that  he  had  personal  intercourse 
with  the  angel  Gabriel.  Now,  was  he  sincere  and  truthful  in 
this  statement?  Did  he  see  something,  or  did  he  see  nothing? 
Did  he  report  what  he  saw  in  truth,  or  did  he  utter  a  delib- 
erate falsehood?  It  seems  to  me  clear  that  the  theory  of  delib- 
erate falsehood  is,  in  this  case,  untenable.  That  he  was  the 
subject  of  some  kind  of  vision  must  be  admitted,  whether  due 
to  Divine  or  Satanic  influence  must  be  determined  by  the  re- 


220  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

suit.  Judged  by  its  fruits,  Islam  cannot  have  had  God  for  its 
author.  It  is  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  opposing  influences 
to  the  religion  of  Jesus  which  have  arisen  in  the  world  since 
the  day  of  Pentecost.  Believing  that  Muhammad  had  in- 
tercourse with  some  being  whom  he  believed  to  be  Gabriel, 
and  seeing  that  the  effect  of  these  revelations,  vouchsafed  to 
Muhammad  through  this  being,  or  due  to  the  influence  which 
this  being  wrought  upon  his  mind,  was,  and  still  is,  to  over- 
throw the  faith  of  the  Bible,  I,  as  a  Christian,  must  therefore 
hold  that  these  visions  were  due  to  Satanic  influence — Satan, 
however,  revealing  himself  as  an  angel  of  light.  This  view  is 
not  only  consistent  with  what  the  Bible  teaches  concerning  the 
character  of  Satan's  policy  in  this  dispensation  (Matt.  iv. 
i-ii,  xxiv.  24;  2  Thess.  ii.  8-12,  and  Revelation  through- 
out), but  it  is  the  theory  which  best  accounts  for  the  strange 
character  and  history  of  Muhammad  himself."  Again,*  com- 
menting on  the  text  of  Sura  IV.,  Surat  un  Nisa,  Women,  v. 
116,  "the  infidels  only  invoke  rebellious  Satan,"  he  says: 
"  Muir  accounts  for  Muhammad's  apostasy,  and  his  belief  in 
his  own  inspiration,  in  part,  at  least,  by  reference  to  direct 
Satanic  influence.  (See  his  '  Life  of  Muhammad,'  vol.  ii., 
Chap.  3).  This  theory,  while  scouted  by  the  Muslims  and  apolo- 
gists for  Islam,  is  decidedly  the  most  satisfactory  yet  enunci- 
ated, and  to  a  believer  in  the  word  of  God  there  should  be  no 
difficulty  in  accepting  it.  It  accounts  for  the  sincere  efforts  at 
reform  inaugurated  at  Makkah  when  Muhammad  seemed  to 
be  really  a  preacher  of  righteousness.  It  accounts  for  his  fall, 
and  for  all  the  deception  and  iniquity  practised  by  him  in  later 
years  under  the  garb  of  religion  and  by  what  he  presumed  to 
be  divine  right.  It  accounts  for  his  deliberate  imposture  while 
fancying  himself  directed  by  God,  for  it  is  not  impossible  for 
Satan  to  have,  so  to  speak,  reflected  back  upon  the  mind  of 
Muhammad  the  devices  of  his  own  heart,  and  so  by  a  revela- 
tion not  only  confirm  his  own  views,  but  also  lead  him  to 
fancy  his  every  thought  to  be  bom  of  inspiration,  so  that  he 
came  practically  to  identify  himrclf  with  God,  though  really 
*  "  Commentary,"  vol.  ii.,  page  104. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  22 1 

identified  with  Satan !  I  think  that  something  like  this  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  account  for  Muhammad's  having,  even 
in  giving  military  orders,  etc.,  invariably  spoken  in  the  person 
as  well  as  in  the  name  of  God.  I  am  aware  as  the  reply  of 
i\Ir.  R.  Bosworth  Smith  (in  his  Muhammad  and  Muham- 
madanism,  page  116,  note)  that  '  if  the  Spirit  of  Evil  did  sug- 
gest the  idea  to  Muhammad,  he  never  so  completely  outwitted 
himself,  since  friend  and  foe  must  alike  admit  that  it  was 
Muhammad's  firm  belief  in  supernatural  guidance  which  lay  at 
the  root  of  all  he  achieved.'  But  this  is  exactly  what  the 
lying  spirit  of  false  prophecy  desires.  Did  Ahab's  prophet 
think  that  he  spoke  by  the  dictum  of  a  lying  spirit  when  he 
withstood  the  prophet  of  God  before  the  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah?  Again,  as  to  Muhammad's  achievements,  we  think 
Satan  has  no  reason  to  believe  he  overstepped  the  matter  in 
the  accomplishment  of  these.  What  better  achievement  could 
he  devise  than  the  establishment  of  a  religion  which  would 
destroy  the  souls  of  men  by  denying  the  atoning  blood  which 
alone  can  destroy  his  power?  Idolatry  is  certainly  his  strong 
tower,  but  when  monotheism  can  be  made  to  serve  the  same 
end,  his  fortress  is  rendered  doubly  strong." 

The  phenomena  of  spiritualism,  or  spiritism,  theosophy,  and 
occultism  as  developed  in  Europe  and  America  within  the  last 
half  century,  also  observations  made  on  cases  of  supposed 
demon  possession,  seem  to  me  to  throw  a  strong  side  light  on 
the  question  of  Muhammad's  celestial  visitations.  Probably 
few  of  those  who  believe  that  intercourse  with  spirits  of  an- 
other world  is  possible  would  hesitate  to  recognize  in  the 
Arabian  prophet  a  very  sensitive  medium  influenced  by  a  con- 
trolling spirit  of  exceptional  power.  It  is  noteworthy  also  that 
one  of  the  principal  accusations  brought  against  him  by  the 
Quraish  was  of  practising  sorcery  and  magic,  arts  which  have 
always  flourished  in  Oriental  lands. 

Rev.  J.  L.  Nevius,  D.D.,  for  many  years  a  resident  of  China, 
was  led  to  investigate  cases  of  supposed  demon  possession  in 
that  country,  and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  there  was  reality 
in  it.     He  published  a  volume  entitled  Demon  Possession  and 


222  ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

Allied  Themes,  from  which  I  extract  the  following,  page  285, 
second  edition :  ''The  facts  which  have  come  to  our  notice  in 
connection  with  spirit  manifestations  in  China  may,  perhaps, 
assist  us  in  understanding  the  different  phases  of  spirit  mani- 
festations recorded  in  Scripture,  as  they  are  related  to  each 
other  in  a  course  of  progressive  development. 

"First.  We  have  the  initial  stage  of  demon  influence,  which 
may  be  called  that  of  obsession.  It  is  the  stage  of  the  first 
approach,  and  the  introductory  and  tentative  efforts  of  the 
demon.  In  this  stage  cases  are  often  unpronounced  in  their 
character,  leaving  it  difficult  to  determine  whether  they  are 
to  be  classed  with  demon  possession,  idiocy,  lunacy,  or  epi- 
lepsy. In  many  cases  of  demon  possession  this  stage  is  want- 
ing, the  second  stage  described  below  being  the  first. 

"Second.  The  stage  marked  by  a  struggle  for  possession,  in 
which  the  unwilling  subject  resists  and  sometimes  success- 
fully, but  generally  pines  away  until  he  yields  an  involuntary 
subjection  to  the  demon's  wnll.  This  may  be  called  the  transi- 
tion stage  or  crisis.    It  is  comparatively  of  short  duration. 

"Third.  This  stage  may  be  designated,  with  regard  to  the 
subject,  as  that  of  subjection  and  subserviency,  and  with  re- 
gard to  the  demon,  as  that  of  training  and  development.  The 
condition  of  the  subject  is  most  of  the  time  healthy  and  nor- 
mal. He  is  peaceful  and  quiet  except  in  the  paroxysm,  which 
occurs  in  passing  from  the  normal  to  the  abnormal  state. 
This  stage  may  continue  for  years. 

"Fourth.  In  this  stage  the  demonized  subject  has  developed 
capabilities  for  use,  and  is  willing  to  be  used.  He  is  the 
trained,  accustomed,  voluntary  slave  of  the  demon." 


Note  to  Page  189. 

God's  covenant  is  secured  by  a  threefold  oath,  sworn  by 
himself,  first  to  Abraham,  then  to  David,  lastly  to  the  Lord 
Jesus — to  Abraham  on  the  occasion  of  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac, 
Gen.  xxii.  16-18;  to  David,  Psalms  Ixxxix.  34-37;  to  Christ, 
Psalms  ex.  4;  to  Christ,  Heb.  vi.  20-25. 


ISLAM    'AND     CHRISTIANITY.  223 

Note  to  Page  209. 

"A  Muhammadan  Army  Chaplain."  By  a  Hawkeye  in  Turkey; 

"  This  is  the  third  day  in  the  four  observed  by  Muhammadans 
as  the  Sacrifice  Festival.  The  Arabo-Turkish  word  coorban 
(sacrifice)  is  the  very  word  used  by  our  Lord,  and  translit- 
erated by  the  revisers  '  Corban,'  Mark,  vii.,  11.  It  seems 
strange  to  hear  '  sacrifice  '  from  every  lip,  and  to  see  the 
crowds  in  gay  colors  making  holiday.  It  is  a  time  for  visiting, 
and  a  Turkish  theologian,  the  chaplain  of  a  regiment  quar- 
tered in  a  neighboring  city,  being  in  town,  favored  me  with  a 
call. 

"  After  formalities  were  interchanged,  I  launched  my  visitor 
into  a  conversation  by  asking  him  the  origin  of  the  Sacrifice 
Festival.  He  told  me  that  Abraham,  the  Friend  of  God,  had 
no  son,  and,  longing  for  offspring,  promised  to  dedicate  the 
child  to  God  if  granted.  Ishmael — peace  to  his  soul ! — was 
born,  but  Abraham  forgot  his  vow.  He  was  warned  in  a 
dream  to  offer  sacrifices,  and  offered  many,  cattle,  sheep, 
camels ;  but  all  to  no  purpose.  A  second  dream  informed  him 
that  he  must  sacrifice  his  son.  So  he  took  Ishmael,  dressed 
him  in  his  best,  combed  his  hair,  and,  without  informing  his 
wife  of  his  purpose,  took  him  to  a  distant  place.  There  with 
the  lad's  consent  he  was  about  to  slay  him,  when  the  voice  of 
God  was  heard  and  a  lamb  was  let  down  from  heaven  as  a 
substitute  for  the  life  of  Ishmael — peace  to  his  soul !  Hence 
the  pious  every  year  offer  a  sacrifice,  a  ransom  for  their  own 
souls. 

"  Almost  any  animal  may  be  offered.  It  must  be  slain  with  an 
invocation,  '  In  the  name  of  God,'  and  such  other  prayers  as 
the  devotion  of  the  offerer  prompts.  The  flesh  has  a  three- 
fold use;  one  part  is  given  to  the  poor,  one  to  friends, 
and  one  is  eaten  by  the  offerer.  The  proportions  are  not  rig- 
idly prescribed.  The  well-to-do  may  sacrifice  many  animals, 
the  poor  are  not  required  to  offer  any;  the  rich  must  refrain 
from  work  on  such  a  festival,  but  the  poor  can  earn  their 
bread,  for  God  never  requires  anything  of  man  the  doing  of 
which  is  hard. 


224  ISLAM     AND     CHRISTIANITY. 

"  We  also  offer  sacrifices  for  the  dead,"  he  continued,  "  testa- 
tors leaving  money  for  that  purpose,  or  pious  sons  thus  honor- 
ing the  memory  of  a  father.  When  at  man  makes  a  vow,  as  on 
recovery  from  sickness  or  promotion  in  office,  he  may  offer  a 
sacrifice.    The  flesh  he  must  not  eat,  but  distribute  to  the  poor. 

"  The  advantage  of  sacrifice  ?  It  tends  to  secure  the  favor  of 
God.  We  distinguish  between  the  Islam,  who  is  such  by  birth, 
and  the  Mussulman,  who  is  such  because  his  heart  is  right. 
Your  Prophet  was  very  wise  in  saying  that  not  what  enters  a 
man  defiles  him,  but  that  what  comes  out  of  the  heart  defiles 
him.  It  is  the  duty  of  man  to  keep  all  the  commandments  of 
God;  if  one  fails  to  sacrifice,  he  has  failed  of  fulfilling  the 
whole  law.  The  guilt  of  sin  is  removed  by  repentance  and 
turning  from  it;  God  then  in  mercy  pardons  the  sin. 

"  You  ask  if  we  accept  the  Old  Testament.  We  accept  four 
great  books— the  Law  of  Moses,  the  Psalter  of  David,  the 
Gospel,  and  the  Koran.  One  hundred  smaller  books  were 
interspersed  among  the  greater  ones  and  summed  up  in  them. 
There  were  four  dispensations,  each  superseding  the  preced- 
ing. A  king  might  order  that  each  child  born  a  citizen  of  his 
country  should  have  a  ring  placed  on  his  finger  as  a  symbol  of 
citizenship.  Later  he  might  order  a  ring  put  in  the  ear  in- 
stead of  on  the  finger;  again,  a  peculiar  garment;  finally,  a 
turban.  The  promulgation  of  each  law  would  abrogate  the 
preceding  ones.  The  Koran  supersedes  all  prior  revelation; 
but  itself  is  the  last.  Don't  be  offended.  In  the  Judgment 
Day  Moses,  David  and  Jesus  will  plead,  each  for  the  men  of 
his  dispensation,  Muhammad  for  the  men  of  his  dispensation. 

"  No,  we  do  not  hold  Christ  to  be  the  Son  of  God ;  for 
fatherhood  would  predicate  place  of  God,  which  we  cannot 
allow.  We  hold  that  His  Excellency,  Jesus,  is  the  Spirit  of 
God.  The  angel  Gabriel  breathed  upon  the  Virgin  Mary, 
touched  her  with  his  wing  (for  angels  may  be  winged  as  well 
as  flame  or  pure  spirit) ,  and  announced  the  birth  of  the  child. 
Jesus,  therefore,  had  no  human  father;  he  is  the  Spirit  of 
God. 


ISLAM    AND     CHRISTIANITY.  225 

"  There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  Abraham  is  the  Friend  of  God. 
There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  Moses  is  the  Speaker  of  God. 
There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  David  is  the  Seer  of  God. 
There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  Jesus  is  the  Spirit  of  God. 
There  is  no  god  but  God,  and  Muhammad  is  the  Prophet  of 
God." 

My  caller  listened  politely  to  my  explanations  of  sacrifice 
as  culminating  in  "  the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world,"  and  the  other  points  in  the  Christian  faith 
touched  upon ;  but  I  have  yet  to  see  a  Muhammadan  drawn  by 
the  statements  of  biblical  truth  as  contrasted  with  his  own 
tenets.  Muhammadanism  has  a  wonderful  impregnability  in 
the  truth  it  contains,  as  well  as  wonderful  weakness  in  its  per- 
versions. It  can  depict  the  majesty  and  mercy  of  God  as  viv- 
idly as  the  frailty  of  mankind.  It  has  no  Saviour.  It  has  no 
remedy  for  sin.  It  strives,  not  to  be  good,  but  to  seem  good. 
It  has  no  foundation  for  conscience  to  work  upon.  It  emphati- 
cally illustrates  "  the  form  of  godliness  without  the  power." 


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reader  in  a  position  to  understand  them  clearly,  are  very  valuable.  The 
volume  is  small  in  size,  but  complete." 

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references,  but  contains  introductions  to  the  several  books  and  explanatory 
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Jerome  and  love  and  reverence  for  the  religion  of  Christ." 

—National  Advocate, 


♦'  The  Inquisition  is  the  most  infernal  thing  in  all  history. 
It  thrills  every  drop  of  our  Protestant  blood  to  read  of  the  brave 
deeds  and  awful  sufferings  of  these  heroic  witnesses  for  the 
truth..''— Omaha  Christian  Advocate, 


••  Mrs.  Clark  uses  all  the  Hterary  skill  shown  in  her  former 
work,  *  Pro  Christo,'  in  portraying  the  iniquities  of  the  Spanish 
Inquisition.  In  rather  Jerome  the  portrayal  is  powerful  and 
maker:  one  realize  more;  fully  the  terrible  experience  through 
which  those  passed  who  'kept  the  faith.'  The  love  of  excite- 
ment which  dominates  every  young  heart  may  be  gratified  in 
this  book. "—7%^  Presbyterian, 

"  We  hope  this  story  will  be  added  to  the  home  and  Sunday- 
school  libraries.  It  is  better  than  a  mere  story  ;  it  is  history, 
and  the  foundation  of  truth  always  appeals  to  the  young." 

—The  Herald  and  Presbyter, 


American  Tract  Society 


RECENT  PUBLICATIONS 
A  BOY  OF  TO-DAY 

By  JULIA  MacNAIR  WRIQHT 

311  pages.  Illustrated.  $1.00 
**  The  author  has  a  gift  for  hitting  the  nail  on  the  head  in 
a  good,  vigorous  fashion.  Her  homely  common  sense  could 
find  no  better  field  than  that  which  she  here  occupies  in  depict- 
ing the  shrewd,  hard-working  people  of  a  typical  New  England 
village  and  their  very-day  life.  '  A  Boy  of  To-day  '  is  a  good 
medium  for  bringing  out  those  conditions  of  living  and  think- 
ing that  make  for  genuine  rightmindedness  and  sturdy  man- 
hood."— Churchman, 

NAOMI 

By   CHARA    B.   CONANT 

12mo.    305  pages.    Illustrated.    $1.00 
*' This  is  ft  story  of  wonderful  power  and  interest.     Some 
of  the  deUneations  are  remarkable  for  insight  into  character. 
Its  style  is  excellent.— />^f^jj//^rza«  Banner. 

LUCY  BROAD^S  CHOICE 

By  MRS.  A.  fl.  PICKFORD 

12mo.  435  pages,  illustrated.  $1.25 
"Mrs.  Pickford  is  a  good  writer  and  her  stories  are  full 
of  high  moral  thought,  as  well  as  interesting  incident  and 
natural  characters.  This  is  no  exception.  It  is  a  clean,  well- 
written  story  for  girls,  and,  aside  from  its  interest  as  a  story, 
teaches  valuable  lessons  in  Christian  living.  It  is  above  the 
average  of  this  class  of  stories." — Christian  Standard, 

JESSE.    A  story  in  the  time  of  Christ 
By  ANNETTE   L.   NOBLE 

12mo.    220  pages.    Illustrated.    75  cts. 

•'  A  very  sweet  story  of  the  time  of  Christ.  ...  A  romance 
is  woven  in  that  adds  zest  to  the  tale.  The  story  is  written  in 
such  a  reverent  spirit  that  it  cannot  fail  to  mterest  and  to  do 
good." — Christian  Observer. 

American  Tract  Society 


NEW  EDITIONS 


|)e<iil  Life  £la$$ic$.... 


We  have  just  issued  a  NEW  EDITION 
of  these  popular  books,  and  have  added 
more  titles  to  the  list. 


Below  is  a  complete  list  of  the  50  vol- 
umes, each  handsomely  bound,  stamped 
in  gold  and  colored  inks.  Well  printed 
on  good  paper,  and  boxed.  Size  of  book 
6J4  X  4}^  inches. 


Price,  30  Cts.  each,  Postpaid. 


♦IMENA/"    -riTL-ES 


Abide  in  Christ, 

[Rev,  Andrew  Mnrray 
Advice  to  a  Young  Christian  and 

Jennie  Graham's  Consecration. 
*Aloue  in  London. Hesba  fetretton 
Angel's  Christmas  and  Little  Dot. 
A  Bag  of  Stories.  .Anna  B.Warner 
Hlood  of  Jesus..  Rev.  William  Reid 
-31u3  Flag,  The.  .Mrs.  S.  S.  B^^ker 

*Bob  Tinker W.  E.  C.  Wyeth 

Christian   Living P.  B.  Meyer 

Christie's  Old  Organ.. Mrs. Walton 
Daily  Food. 

Daily  Light,  Morning  Hour. 
Daily  Light,  Evening  Hour. 
=1=  Dairyman's  Daughter,  The 

[Legh  Richmond 
*Down  in  a  Mine . 
Expectation  Corner.      When   the 
King    Comes   to   His    Own  and 
Conflicting  Duties. 
Gold  Dust. 

Heart  Life Rev.  T.  L.  Cuyler 

Helps  Over  Hard  Places,  Boys, 

[Lynde  Palmer 
Helps  Over  Hard  Places,  Girls, 

[Lynde  Palmer 
*Here  a  Little  and  There  a  Little 
*Home  Songs. 

Imitation  of  Christ A.  Kempis 

Jessica's     First     Prayer,    and 

Jessica's  Mother. 
Jesus  only. 


♦John  Ploughman's  Talk, 

[Spurgeon 
*Tohn  Ploughman's  Pictures, 

[Spurgeon 
Kept  for  the  Master's  Use  and  My 

King Frances  R.  Ha  vergal 

Like  Christ.  .Rev.  Andrew  Mun-ay 
Line  upon  Line.  .Mrs.  M.  Mortimer 
Little  Captain  and  Buy  Your  Own 

Cherries. 
*Little  Meg' s  Children .  H.  Stretton 
*Mark  Stedman. 
Mind  and  W  or ds  of  Jesus, 

[Rev.  J.R.MacDuff 
Miss  Toosie's  Mission  and  Laddie 
New  Life  and  New  Heart. 
Nobody  Loves   Me. .  .Mrs.  Walton 

Olive's  Story IMrs.  Vv'alton 

Peep  of  Day  ....  Mrs.  M.  Mortimer 
Pilgrim's  Progress.  John  Bunyan 
*Precept  upon  Precept. 
Royal  Commandments  and  Royal 

Bounty F.  R.  Havergal 

Saved  at  Sea  and  Little  Faith, 

[Mrs.  Walton 

Scripture  Promises Clarke 

Shepherd  Psalm F.  B.  ]\Ieyer 

Wee  Davie.  .Dr.  Norman  McLeod 
*Whiter  than  Snow. 
With  Christ  Rev.  Andrew  Murray 
*Wilson's  Kmdling  Depot, 

[Mrs.  C.  S.  R.  Parker 
Young  Man  Setting  Out  in  Life. 


American  Tract  Society 


NEW   BOOKS 

Published  by  the  Ametican  Tract  Society* 
AT  OPENING  DOORS 

By  HOWE  BENNINQ 

12mo.    Illustrated.    351  pages.    $1.25 


"  An  excellent  story-book  for  girls  who  want  to  build  noble  characters. 
The  heroine  found  her  greatest  pleasure  in  im;»rovinp-  her  opportunities  for 
the  betterment  of  others."— Presbyterian  Journal. 

"A  helpful,  bright,  natural  story,  showing  what  good  can  be  done  by  a 
young  girl  fitting  herself  to  her  natural  suTTonndings."— Advocate. 

"A  charming  story  of  Christian  Endeavor  life,  illustrating  how  a 
Christian  life  may  be  lived  happily.  The  heroine  is  no  story-book  girl,  but 
a  real,  live  young  women,  with  all  the  difficulties  to  overcome  that  others 
have,  yet  she  makes  her  life  a  blessing  to  others.  The  book  is  well  worth 
reading,  both  for  the  story  and  the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  it.''— Christian 
Union  Herald. 

"  From  the  first  chapter,  which  introduces  us  to  convention  scenes,  the 
interest  is  kept  up  to  the  '  Lifting  of  the  Mortgage  '  in  the  last  chapter. 
Young  women  desirous  of  being  helpful  to  others  will  find  in  this  story  an 
inspiration  for  the  duties  of  the  home  and  the  community."— A^a^zona/  Ad^ 
vocate. 

A  BONNIE  BOY>    A  Story  of  Happy  Day* 

By  JULIA  MacNAIR  WRIGHT 

12mo.    Illustrated.    296  pages.    $1.00 

"  Anything  written  by  Julia  MacNair  Wright  maybe  depended  onto 
be  good,  and  this  drawing  story,  that  has  its  climax  in  a  famous  Christmas, 
is  no  exception  to  the  universal  rule." — Religious  Herald. 

"  A  bright  story  of  a  boy,  who  between  the  covers  of  this  book  grows 
from  four  years  old  to  twelve.  The  boy  is  just  a  boy— free,  natural  and 
frolicsome.  The  story  will  delight  every  young  boy  who  reads  it.''— Evangel- 
ist.  

"A  beautiful  story  of  child  life  which  every  boy  should  read  or  have 
read  to  him.  It  is  both  amusing  and  touching.  Parents  should  also  read 
the  book,  for  there  are  many  useful  hints  on  child  training  to  be  gathered 
from  the  story." — Christian  Union  Herald. 

"  The  happy  life  of  A  Bonnie  Boy  is  a  recital  which  will  be  a  delight  to 
childish  hearts.  Little  Jack,  Jr.,  is  a  very  human  child  and  an  attractive 
one  as  well."— Presbyterian  Banner. 

"The  children  will  enjoy  this  book.  The  sayings  and  doings  of  a  dear. 
merry,  bright  and  happy  boy  are  recorded,  and  the  little  girls,  too,  will  find 
him  an  amusing  little  friend."— Lutheran  Observer. 


American  Tract  Society 


SABBATH  NIGHTS  AT  PITCOONANS 

8vo.    94  pages.    50  ctt. 


"The  reader  cannot  help  a  keen  enjoyment  m  this  volume, 
•with  Jamie  Stewart,  Tom  Duff,  Dare  Paterson,  Geordie  Smart 
and  the  others,  while  Sandy  Scott,  on  Sabbath  Nights,  gives 
them  in  his  broad  Scotch,  his  homely  interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture."— Christian  Observer. 

**  Sandy  Scott  holds  his  weekly  class  for  the  young  farmers 
and  laborers  of  his  neighborhood,  and  many  and  lively  are  the 
discussions  that  arise.  These  the  wise  teacher  in  his  simple 
way  always  turns  to  the  spiritural  profit  of  his  hearers,  and 
sends  them  away  quiet  and  thoughtful,  with  a  new  stirring  of 
the  heart.   The  book  is  well  worth  reading." 

— Christian  Advocate. 

"Although  a  slender  volume  it  is  packed  with  acute  and 
strong  presentations  of  Bible  scenes  and  teachings." 

— Christian  Intelligencer. 


"This  is  a  delightful  and  instructive  book.  All  lovers  of 
Ian  MacLaren's  writings  will  greatly  enjoy  and  appreciate  it. 
The  quaint  Scotch  dialect  and  homely,  pathetic  incidents 
touchingly  illustrate  Scripture  truth.  Many  of  its  characters 
remind  us  of  characters  in  the  '  Bonnie  Brier  Bush. '  " 

—National  Advocate, 

FRESH  AIR 

By  ANNA  B.  WARNER 

J62  pages.  Printed  on  heavy  antique  paper,  illustrated  and  illu- 
minated with  marginal  designs  on  each  page.  Attractively 
bound  in  cloth.    75  cts. 

The  theme  which  furnishes  the  motive  of  this  story  is  one 
of  ever  increasing  popular  interest.  The  blessings  which  Fresh 
Air  work  has  brought  into  the  lives  of  the  children  of  the  slums 
are  recognized  as  incalculable.  What  is  done  each  year  for 
many  of  these  little  ones  and  what  might  be  done  for  many 
more,  finds  beautiful  and  effective  illustration  in  the  story  of 
Lippet  and  Tip.  "FRESH  AIR"  is  a  winsome  story,  well 
calculated  to  delight  all  its  readers. 


American  Tract  Society 


THE  EVENING    J^  ^ 


Km>  THE  MORNING 


\  By  Rev.  ARMSTRONG  BLACK 

V 

12mo.    159  pages.    $1.00 

^(isBted  in  two  c(^ors»  on  super-calendered  paper  aad  bouad 
in  an  attractive  style 


•**PittS  exquisite  piece  of  bookmaking,  in  paper,  print  and 
binding,  is  more  than  a  mere  book  of  devotion.  It  is,  indeed, 
for  *Tlie  Quiet  Hour,'  when  the  soul  is  alone  with  God,  and  all 
other  voices  stilled,  may  hear  his  voice  clearly.  But  it  is  a 
strong,  discriminating  and  helpful  treatment  of  some  of  life's 
great  problems,  as  the  Christ  solves  them  for  those  who  will 
shut  themselves  in  with  him.  It  is  a  being  alone  with  God  for 
the  settlement  of  life's  greatest  issues  and  the  perfecting  of 
life's  divinest  powers.  It  is  a  book  that  one  will  read  through, 
and  often  turn  to  again." — Teachers'  Monthly. 


•*Mr.  Armstrong  Black's  work  is  an  example  of  what  we 
should  call  the  newer  and  more  robust  style  of  devotional  writ- 
ing. He  takes  such  subjects  as  Gethsemane  and  the  Journey 
to  ;^mmaus,  and  writes  on  them  with  sympathy  and  imagi- 
nation. The  book  touches  various  phases  of  the  spiritual  life  in 
a  way  that  is  often  fresh  and  stimulating,  and  its  influence  will 
be  all  the  greater  because  it  does  not  make  the  mistake  of 
ignofkig  or  scorning  the  difficulties  of  faith." 

— Christicm  World, 


American  Tract  Society 


Date  Due 


llpfe--  ■:lf»ilUT  W1 


